


A little ray of sunshine

by blossom_angel85



Category: 7th Heaven
Genre: Acceptance, Babies, F/F, F/M, Family, Love, being strong, standing by each other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-03
Updated: 2016-05-02
Packaged: 2018-06-06 02:20:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 49,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6734035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blossom_angel85/pseuds/blossom_angel85
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mary falls pregnant to her husband Ben and starts reminiscing about their relationship. Throughout the pregnancy she is reminded of different times in their relationship and courtship. </p><p>The A story are involving Ben and Mary and their marriage/pregnancy, The B stories are involving other members of both Mary and Ben's family, the Camden's and the Kinkirks. Whilst it's primarily about Mary and Ben, it's also about family as well. </p><p>Back ground on main Characters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Back Ground on Main characters 

The Kinkirks

Mary and Ben married 31st December 2011

Mary Kinkirk Born: 3rd March 1981

Ben Kinkirk Born: December 15th 1979

Mary and Ben married New Years Eve 2011 and have just found out she is pregnant five months into their marriage. They decided to move back to Glen Oak where Ben is still a fire-fighter and Mary is a Teacher and Coach of the Girls Basketball Team. She works at the Eleanor Roosevelt Private School where Ruthie once went to school and their mother Annie teacher.

Lucy and Kevin married April 21st 2003

Lucy Kinkirk Born: January 22nd 1982

Kevin Kinkirk Born: August 15th 1979

Savannah Kinkirk Born January 24th 2005

Lucy, Kevin and Savannah still live in the house behind Camden Residence and have decided to try again for a baby after they lost the baby again after the final episode of 7th Heaven. Lucy is still a Minister for the church she has always worked and worshiped, taking more on as her Father decided to cut back. Kevin is still a Cop, being promoted to Captain of the Glen Oak Police Station after Captain Michael's retired. Savannah is seven years old and desperately wants a brother or a Sister of her own, preferably a Sister. She is about to finish grade one and starting her Summer Vacation, excited at that, but also at being in grade two when school starts back.

The Camden's

Annie and Eric married September 21st 1978

Annie Camden Born August 6th 1958

Eric Camden Born October 1st 1954

Sam Camden Born: February 14th 1999

David Camden Born: February 14th 1999

Annie and Eric still live at the Church house with their 13 year old twins Sam and David. Annie is back teaching at the Eleanor Roosevelt Private School as an English Teacher and Eric is still working part time at the Glen Oak Community Church as their Senior Minister, He is looking towards Lucy to take his place once he retires fully. Sam is the quiet achievers, he was skipped a head one grade and is now in grade nine instead of grade eight. He is a expressed a desire to be a teacher like his mother one day. At the age of twelve, David was discovered to have a rare blood disorder known as Idiopathic thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) It is a condition of having abnormally low platelet counts (thrombocytopenia) of unknown causes (idiopathic). Because of this condition, he has missed a lot of school through needing treatments and hospital stays, but he has remained a good student, His parents hiring him a tutor to work with while he is in Hospital or at home on bed rest. He is in good spirits however and can't wait to get back to school after his latest flare up.

Matt and Sarah married February 25th 2002 Second time May 13th 2002 with family

Third time: February 25th 2012 - On the 10 year anniversary, they renewed their vows

Matt Camden Born: April 23rd 1979

Sarah Camden Born: September 6th 1979

Twins: Noah Zachary Born: September 24th 2006

Nathaniel Riley Camden Born: September 24th 2006

Sarah and Matt run their own clinic now, Sarah as a Paediatrician and Matt as an OB/GYN. They love the challenge of running their own Practice/Clinic and live in Manhattan, New York. They have twin son's Noah Zachary and Nathaniel Riley who gets called Nate. The twins were born on September 24th 2006 and are five years and eight months old. They are in Kindergarten and will be going into Grade one after Summer Vacation finishes. Matt and Sarah are considering opening their own Practice/Clinic back in their hometown of Glen Oak as they miss being with their families.

Simon and Cecilia married July 10th 2009

Simon Camden Born: February 9th 1986

Cecilia Camden Born: October 3rd 1986

Simon and Cecilia re-connected after his failed attempt to get married to Rose and they got married jointly by his father and sister. They have opened up a thriving Day Care business as that is what Cecilia got her College degree in child care and in and Simon got his college degree in business studies. He works behind the scenes, making sure the centre is running well and takes care of the finances. Simon and Cecilia are having trouble with conceiving a child, they have been looking into IVF and are thinking about doing a round of it to see if it helps them conceive.

Ruthie and Martin married December 28th 2008 on her eighteenth birthday in Paris

Ruthie Camden-Brewer Born: December 28th 1990

Martin Brewer Born: September 11th 1988

Ruthie left T-Bone after discovering he cheated on her with another woman. She sought comfort in the arms of her true love, Martin and together they eloped to France where she was an enhance student for a while. Her family was angry with them, but they had a low key wedding when they got back in her father's church, married by her father. They live in Glen Oak in an apartment. Ruthie works at Simon and Cecilia's Day Care centre as well, discovering after looking after her little brothers and niece and nephews all the time, she really enjoyed it. Martin joined the Marines like his father when he turned twenty. He signed a six year contract and so he has another two years to go. He has been doing courses externally to become a Personal Trainer and is getting advise from his brother in law Simon as to how to get his own Gym up and running which will also have a baby/kids gym and child care facilities attached to it, so the parents can exercise and train without worrying about their children. They have decided to wait till Martin is out of the Marines to try for a baby as Martin doesn't feel it is fair on Ruthie to be a single parent while he is away.

Aaron Brewer: Born: 30th January 200

Sandy Jameson Born: February 19th 1985

Aaron Brewer who is six years old lives with his mother Sandy Jameson in Glen Oak and Martin and Ruthie have shared custody with her. Aaron and Savannah are best friends and love spending together. Sandy is still single after deciding she doesn't need a guy in her life to make her happy. She is a Social worker and a children's Counselor working alongside Matt and Sarah at their clinic and doing counselling sessions at the church for any child or teen who needs it.


	2. Finding out

A Little Ray of Sunshine

Mary falls pregnant with her husband Ben's baby & starts reminiscing about their relationship, including from their time together on the show and to what happened after the show ended. I am once again ignoring the fact Mary and Carlos got married and had a family. Throughout Mary's pregnancy, she is reminded of different times in Mary and Ben's relationship.

Disclaimer: I do not own 7th heaven or the characters.

Chapter 1

It was May 2012 and Mary hadn't been feeling well, she had been vomiting and had stomach aches for the last few days. She was also late.. So she got some advise from her little sister Lucy who advised her to go take a Pregnancy test. She was now sitting in her Master Bedroom with her sister Lucy and seven year old niece Savannah nestled comfortably in her Aunt's arms while waiting for the results of the test, losing herself in the memory of the day she and Ben decided to get back together for good.

-Flasback-

It had been a cold Winter's day and Mary had just gotten off work, She drove back home from the airport she worked at and noticed an unfamiliar black SUV sitting in her driveway. She park in the driveway next to it and got out, wondering who it was, when all of a sudden the driver wound their window down. Mary's eyes widened in shock and her hand flew to her mouth.. It was her Ben.. the man she spent months trying to get over, but had no idea how to or where to begin.

After their big fight.. four months after Matt and Sarah's Wedding, they separated.. Now eight years later.. they were in each other's company for the first time since their breakup. "Ben.." she managed to say, "What are you doing here?", She asked him hesitating for a moment. "I.. I'm here to see you Mary... Lucy and Kevin told me where I could find you...". Ben looked at her softly, "Can we talk Mare?", he asked hoping she would say yes. Mary continued to looked at him and nodded, "Sure Ben, come inside...". She whispered, as she watched him smile a little brighter and opened the car door and close it, locking it up. "Nice car". She commented as they walked up the front steps to her apartment and walked down the hall, getting her key out to unlock it. She opened the door and let them both in closing it behind her and wondered where they were relationship was going to lead them to now.

Mary tilted her head towards the sofa "Have a seat Ben" she said as she put her bags down and took off her heavy winter coat. Her base was no longer in buffalo, but in Chicago and she was surprised to see him here. She got them each a hot chocolate, knowing he loved them and settled down on the sofa next to him, handing him the cup of hot chocolate. Mary took a sip of her Hot chocolate and placed it on the coffee table, waiting for Ben to talk.

Ben smiled as Mary handed him the cup, "You remembered, Thanks Mary", He said softly, loving that she remembered his favourite drink to have on a cold Winter's afternoon. He took a big drink and held onto his cup, but looked intently at Mary, sighing feeling nervous, but knowing he needed to tell her this now or else he never would. "Mary... I.. I've missed you so much... I know it's been so long and it's most likely too late to go back... but Mare... I want a second chance.." He said softening his facial features as she continued to gaze into his eyes. "I still care a lot about you and want to try to work things out between us". He took Mary's hand in his own and gently caressed the back of her hand with his thumb.

Mary couldn't believe what she was hearing, Ben Kinkirk... the one true love of her life and soul mate was here in her apartment asking her to be his girlfriend again and work things out. Her gaze never left his and she shivered slightly at his touch. She had really missed him and had often thought about trying to get in touch with him, but wasn't sure how he still felt about it. It was this thought that kept her away.. she thought for sure he would be happily in another relationship and not have even given her a single thought, but here he was.. She slowly inched closer to him and sighed happily as she intertwined their fingers together and squeezed his hand gently, before looking back into those dreamy eyes of his. "Ben.. I had resigned myself to never seeing you again.. I thought for sure you would have found someone.. I guess that is what stopped me from asking Luce and Kev about you". She took a deep breath and then continued, "I have missed you so much Ben and to hear you say those words makes me the happiest I have ever been". Whispering as she felt the tears well in her eyes, "I think we both deserve a second chance". Before she knew what had hit her, Ben had closed the gap between then and inched his face closer to hers, taking in his beautiful features, before lightly touching his lips to her, enveloping her in a hug as he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her gently and slowly. Mary didn't hesitate and kissed him back, moaning as she closed her eyes, breathing in his scent deeply, snaking her hands up behind his neck, an action that helped her deepen the kiss. Finally when they both decided they needed to come up for air, they both held each other as stared dreamily into each other's eyes, knowing that all the happiness and love in the world that they ever needed and wanted was right in front of them both.

-End Flasback-

Lucy heard the timer in Mary's ensuite go off indicating the results of the test were ready. She nudged Mary and took her daughter from her, so that Mary could go look for herself, "Mare.. I think it's time to go look, We'll be right here if you need us Kay". She said as she squeezed her hand and pushed her gently towards the bathroom, smiling softly and looking at her daughter, "You might be getting another baby cousin Savannah". She whispered as Savannah smiled and nodded, nuzzling her head into her mother's neck as they waited.

Mary took her time going into the bathroom and she slowly looked at the stick and then at the box to check what it meant. Her hazel brown eyes widened in surprise as she took in the news. She took the Pregnancy Stick out to the bedroom and showed Lucy, grinning from ear to ear, "We're having a baby Lucy.. I'm Pregnant". Mary felt so excited to know she was expecting and couldn't wait to tell Ben when he got home from work later that day.

Lucy smiled as Mary showed her the test results and jumped up, hugging her sister tightly, "Oh Sis, I am so happy for you". Savannah smiled and looked up at her Aunt Mary with her adoring seven year old eyes, "Wow, Aunt Mary.. That means I will have another baby cousin", She said secretly hoping it was a girl.. As much as she loved her Aunt Sarah and Uncle Matt's twin boys Nate and Noah, she wanted a little girl to play with.

Mary smiled at both of them and hugged them both back, "Thanks Luce.. for being here for me.. I know I can always count on you". Turning towards Savannah, she laughed gently at her niece's enthusiasm, "Yes sweetheart.. You will have a baby cousin, Now remember Shhh", She took her finger and placed it on her mouth hushing the child, "Now we don't want anyone to know just yet.. I want your Uncle Ben to know before we tell anyone else'. Savannah giggled and zipped her lips and threw away the key. Mary put the test stick into her pocket to show Ben and started to move towards the door, tilting her head to get Lucy and Savannah to follow, "Now, how do we find the perfect way to tell Uncle Ben, lets go downstairs to thin and we can have a snack while we think". She said as they headed downstairs.. Mary sighing happily as she absently placed her hand over her stomach, feeling excited, but also a little nervous about telling Ben.


	3. The nerves set in

May 2012

It was later that afternoon and Lucy and Savannah had gone back home and Mary was home alone till Ben came home from work, she was still a little unsure of things, they hadn't planned on having children so soon after the got married, but still at the same time she was nervous to tell him she was carrying their child. She knew he loved spending time with his little niece and wanted to have a family of his own so that calmed her down a bit. She decided the best way to tell him was to just do it and not fuss about and show him the pregnancy test she has taken earlier that day. She was also planning on making his favorite dinner of lasagna, French fries and salad and set up the dinning room table with candlelit. As she made dinner, she thought back to the day they told the Camden/Kinkirk Families they were back together for good...

*flash back*

June 2010

Mary and Ben were on their way back to Glen Oak.. They had been back together for a good 6 months and were slowly learning and rediscovering things about each other and finally one night as they were watching tv curled up in each others arms that Ben decided they should finally tell their families. "You know we should tell everyone babe.. They are gonna want to know that we are together again", He said to her as he laced their fingers together, "I know, I just don't want to jinx anything this time". Mary answered, still feeling unsure as she looked at their linked fingers and sighed contently as she rested her head against his strong shoulders.

"We won't jinx anything", Ben said chuckling, loving the fact his girlfriend was still the same old crazy wacky Mary who was superstitious about certain things. "I want everyone to know that I'm yours and you are mine", he whispered, leaning in to place a kiss on her lips. She smiled, kissing him back and nodded, still a little unsure but willing to let her boyfriend lead this time, "Ohh okay, Let's go see them this weekend", She said softy, but couldn't help adding "but if anything goes wrong.. Then I told you so", she said giggling as he kissed her nose playfully.

It was that decision that prompted Ben to call Lucy and Kevin and ask if he could stay the weekend, and Mary calling her parents and asking if she could stay at their house, both agreeing immediately. Ben drove his SUV into the Kinkirk's driveway late Friday afternoon having decided to tell their siblings the news first. Mary knew that Lucy would be ecstatic with the news, Lucy had always though Ben and Mary were made for each other and as Ben cut of the engine, he looked over at Mary, taking her hand in his and smiled, "You ready baby". She nodded and smiled back, feeling a little nervous and answered, "I''m ready.. Let's get this over with". Ben got out of the car and went over to open Mary's door for her and leant in for a kiss as she got out and then they walked up to the door, hand in hand, wondering what their siblings would think.

Ben rang the door bell and Savannah knowing it was going to be her Uncle Ben got all excited, "Can I answer the door Daddy.. Please... Please.. Pretty please?", Kevin chuckled and nodded, picking his young daughter up and carrying over over to the door, "How bout we answer it together", he said kissing her forehead as he reached for the doorknob and opened the door, his eyes widening in shock as he saw not only his brother standing there, but his sister in law. "Ben, Mary.. Hi, come on in", he said, feeling very surprised to see Mary there as well. "Aunt Mary", Savannah exclaimed as she launched herself out of her fathers arms into her Aunt's outstretched ones, "Hey there sweetie.. You surprised?".

She nodded and giggled as Ben tickled her under the arms, "Yup.. Daddy said only Uncle Ben would be here", She giggled and squirmed in Mary's arms as Ben kept tickling he. "Well.." Ben started, "We decided to surprise you all", he continued as he took Savannah from Mary and placed her onto his hip, "So how is my big girl?", he said as he patted her stomach and smiled at her, "I'm good Uncle Ben.. I'm gonna be a Kindergartner when we go back to school". She said excitedly, she had been so excited to finish her first year as a pre-kindergartner and couldn't wait for the next year. "That's awesome, give me a high five", he said holding his hand out as she slapped her hand with his and giggled.

Lucy had been in her study trying to get her sermon organized for Sunday, and heard the noise and came out, "Hey Ben, good to see you", She then noticed Mary standing there and looked as shocked as Kevin did before, "Mare?", she said as she came over and pulled her sister into a big hug, "What are you doing here, we were only expecting Ben?" Mary looked over at Ben and smiled, "Do you wanna tell them?". Ben walked over with Savannah still on his hip and placed his arm around Mary's waist and smiled at his brother and sister in law, "Well.. Mary and I came here to tell you that we are officially back together again".

Lucy put her hands on her mouth smiling excitedly as they all heard Savannah yell out a big "Yessss", pumping her first in the air and Kevin smiled at the two of them. Lucy pulled herself together and ran over to them and gave them both a big hug, "Wow.. Mare, that is wonderful, Congratulations.. To the two of you". Mary smiled and hugged her younger sister back, "Thanks Luce", she whispered in her ear smiling as Kevin hugged his brother and offered his best wishes to the happy couple, "This is awesome", Savannah whispered, looking in awe at her Aunt and Uncle. She was already planning on scheming over the summer holidays to get the two of them back together after her parents had finally told her her Aunt and Uncle used to be a couple, so this was beyond her wildest little dreams.

Once Savannah had been put to bed, they sat around the dinner table later that evening having some milk and cookies after "So how long you been together?", Lucy asked as she took her cookie and dunked it into the milk and took a bite, "About 6 months now, We didn't want to jinx anything and wanted to take things slowly at first which is why we haven't told anyone before now", Mary said carefully, hoping her sister would understand why she didn't tell her before now. She knew Lucy still felt left out at times and didn't want her to feel upset now. "So not even Mom and Dad know?". Kevin chimed in as he rested his hand on Lucy's knee gently, "Nope.. No one knows.. You three are the first to know".

Lucy smiled at that, she hated being left out and as her sister got older, she seemed to become more sensitive to other people's needs and it warmed her heart to know that Mary had thought of Lucy and knew she would appreciate being the first told about her and Ben. "When you planning on telling everyone else?", she asked raising her eyebrow. "This weekend, Mom and Dad think I am coming over tomorrow to spend Saturday night and Sunday with them and I thought we could tell everyone either tomorrow night or after church on Sunday". Lucy smiled, hearing another one of Mary's wacky plans, but knew it could work this time. "I think they will all be happy about it, they know how much you two mean to each other".

*end flashback*

Mary heard the front door open and smiled knowing her husband was finally home from work. She was feeling a little more nervous but she couldn't wait to tell Ben he was going to be a Daddy, she just hoped he was going to be happy at the news. She heard the door close and lock and then heard his footsteps walking into the kitchen where she was standing at the counter finishing preparing their dinner and smiled as she felt his arms wrap around her waist and his lips on her neck kissing her, Hey baby", he whispered, loving how perfect she fit in his arms.

She turned around and looked into his eyes smiling, "Hi honey.. I missed you today", she answered back in a soft voice as she leaned in to him and stood up on her tip toes to brush her lips against his, her hand resting on his cheek for support. He grinned into the kiss and pulled her closer, "I missed you too Mare". He nuzzles his nose playfully against hers and smiled as he pulled away slightly to take his jacket off, "Mmm, dinner smells wonderful", he said as he got a whiff of her cooking, "Do I have time for a shower babe?". She nodded as she turned around to continue the final touches on the salad, "It should be about 15 or so minutes so you have time baby".

He nodded and gave her another soft quick peck on her cheek and whispered, "I won't be too long". He pulled away and headed back to the living room to take his shoes off, and put his bag away in the hall closest and then walked down the hall and up the stairs to their master bedroom and ensuite, taking his watch and ring off and sitting them on the bedside table and then quickly shedding his clothes and walked into the ensuite, turning the shower on. As he took a shower, it gave Mary a little extra time to prepare what she was going to say to Ben and she felt into her pocket for the test and smiled as she looked at it again quickly, her heart fluttering as she once again saw the test showed it was positive and then quickly deposited it back into her jeans pocket as she began to serve out dinner.


	4. Telling Ben

Mary finished serving dinner and took their plates over to the dinning room table, lighting some candles and putting on some soft music as Ben finished drying off and dressing in a pair of faded blue jeans and a white buttoned down shirt, all of the buttons except the top two were buttoned up. As he smelled Mary's cooking, he felt his stomach growl with hunger, and he started down the stairs and into the kitchen, smiling as he saw the effort his wife went to. "This looks beautiful Mare", he said as he walked over to her and kissed her lips softly, Mary smiling into the kiss as she lost herself in her husband's sweet smelling cologne. "Thank you my handsome husband", she giggled softly, her happiness shining through. "Dinner is ready", she added as she put the garlic bread on the table.

Ben walked over to the fridge and grabbed a beer out, looking over towards his wife, "What would you like to drink babe?", he asked her as she sat at the table, "Just a glass of milk will be fine thanks honey". She was glad she wasn't a big drinker as Ben didn't even bat an eyelid at her answer, he just grabbed a tall glass out of the cupboard and the milk out of the fridge and poured her a glass, setting the milk back in the fridge, closing the door and then bringing their drinks over to the table, siting down across from her on the bench seat as he passed her drink to her. She took a sip and smiled, wiping the milk from her mouth, "Thanks babe". He smiled back and took her hands, "Your welcome.. You ready to say grace?".

She nodded and they both bowed their heads saying grace softly, "Thank you, Lord, for this food which is set before us. May we use it to nourish our bodies, and thee to nourish our souls. Make us ever more mindful of the needs of others, and the needs of our planet. Through Christ Our Lord, Amen". Ben repeated Amen after Mary and then he brought their joined hands up to his mouth and pressed his lips gently on the back of her hand, loving how Mary smiled at him and then let their hands to so they could eat. They sat and ate mostly in comfortable silence, but also sharing in telling each other about their day, Mary was itching to tell him about their news but was wanting to wait till after dinner and the dishes were finished when they could both really settle down, relax and enjoy themselves. As they both ate, they both remembered the first time that Ben had dinner with the Camden family, thinking that they never would have made it to where they are now.

*flash back*

Mary was speaking to her father in the backyard as she played some basketball about Wilson when all of a sudden she heard a voice behind her "Hello Mary", Ben said walking up to her and Eric. Mary turned her head and her face lit up with a smile, calling his name, "Ben", dropping the basketball and running into his arms while her father looked on curiously. He smiled wide as he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight while she slung her arms around his neck and giggled happily.

They sat on the couch in the living room, gazing into each other's eyes, Mary's hand fidgeting on her lap as she spoke finally, "It's really nice to see you". Ben kept his gaze on her's as he smiled, nodding and answering back, "It's really nice to see you too". As they continued to stare at each other, Eric walked in and knocked, "Are you staying for dinner Ben?". Ben never looked away from Mary as he responded, "Yes". Mary looked almost shy all of a sudden when Eric spoke again moving his hands around still looking a little perplexed, "Mary, did your mother tell you dinner is almost ready, in case you need to clean up or anything?" Mary, still looking at Ben answered with one word, "Yes". Ben then chimed in with "Thanks".

Eric, still looking a little nervous then walked into the living room and sat down on a chair opposite Ben and Mary, placing his arms on his knees as his fingers clasped together as he smiled nervously asking, "So where you from Ben?", Ben's eyes still not leaving Mary's as he answered, Mary slightly biting her lower lip, "Buffalo, Sir". Eric pursed his lips and asked, "And what brings you to our fair city?". Ben finally turned his head around to look at Eric, his hands placed in his lap and then sat forward as he explained, "Oh, Umm.. I came to pick up a rescue dog for our unit". He gestured with his hands as he confined, "The dog was trained near here and I volunteered to come out at my own expense". Eric nodded and tilted his head, "Oh".

Before Eric could get another word in, Ben turned back towards Mary and asked, "So, Um, you and Wilson...?". Mary shook her head, looking into his eyes, "We broke up, We're not getting married". "Do you still talk to him?", was Ben's next question and Mary once again shook her head before answering, "No, that's over", she continued in her soft voice, "I think we both knew it was just never gonna work out". Eric looked at Mary, very interested in hearing her side of the conversation as Ben asked another question, "So did you guys decide to remain friends?". She shook her head again, her hands still firmly in her lap, "No, it was pretty much a clean break", she said smiling wide at him. Eric slowly nodded his head as he took all this in, feeling frustrated remembering their earlier conversation.

Ben was in the dinning room siting opposite Robbie and Matt, Robbie asking, "So you're the guy she got caught kissing?". He answered, You know about that?" Robbie replied, moving his right arm up in the air as his left hand held a coffee mug, "We all know about that", Matt sitting just eyeing the guy off. "No kidding, this is a close family", Ben said, adding "And a small community". He held his hands up, "Should I be here?". Both Robbie and Matt shrugged their shoulder, Matt slightly smirking. "Were you both friends with Wilson?", Ben asked, and they both shook their heads indicating no. He then asked, "But you both know Wilson?". Once again both men said nothing but nodded their heads this time, "He seemed like a nice enough guy to me".

Both Robbie and Matt nodded their heads, amused as Ben continued, "It's not like I set out to break them up". They both shook their heads and flung their arms out making weird faces, "It just happened", Ben said as he again made hand gestures, both Robbie and Matt doing the same thing once again. Ben shook his head and confessed, "I dunno.. I guess I have just been attracted to Mary since the day I met her". Both Robbie and Matt uttered the same thing at the same time, "Good luck". Ben chuckled and asked them, "Why do you say that?". Matt explained, "Well, Camden women are very", he said moving his hands around, "Well uhh fickle", bringing his hands together, clasping them together as his father did earlier. "Fickle", Robbie repeated as he sat forward in his seat.

The three men talked a little more amongst themselves and then Matt turned to and said "You know, enough about us, what about you and your women?", he asked smiling widely. Ben looked at him and answered, "I dated the same woman all through high school and college, then she got am assignment with the BBC and moved to London", both men looking interested and Robbie asked, "Then what happened". "Then after a year went by and we drifted apart, I met Mary". Ben concluded.

At that moment, Mary walked into the dinning room and Ben looked over at her with a big grin on his face, Mary standing there also with a similar look as Robbie and Matt both said again, "Good luck". Ben and Mary both looked at them with confused expressions on their faces, wondering exactly what they both meant by that comment.

After dinner, Mary and Ben decided to go for a drive, Mary was in the kitchen looking for her keys when Ruthie walked in after having met Ben, "I can't" find my keys anywhere", she said as she stood up from her crouching position. "Then my guess would be Lucy is driving your car", Ruthie said shrugging a little, "But she didn't ask to drive my car", Mary said as she stood there in the kitchen. "She's out picking up guys, It's hard to pick up guys when you're in an electric car or a minivan", Ruthie's reply was. Mary sighed and then said, "Fine, we'll go out in Ben's car". Ruthie asked Mary, "Word of advice", Mary gestured for her to continue, "Move back to New York, follow him whenever he goes if he takes you to the end of the earth. Forget about Wilson, forget you ever met him, forget you ever got engaged".

As she said that, Ben came walking into the kitchen but neither of them noticed, "Forget you never gave his ring back, forget that he moved away without telling you where he was going" Ben was now listening intently to every word Ruthie said, "And forget about finding him". At Ruthie's last words, Mary's eyes slowly traveled up realizing Ben was standing there and Ruthie's eyes followed Mary's gaze and she looked back at Mary, "Uhh Ohh", she said softly. Ben spoke up, "Maybe we shouldn't be in a car when we talk". He then looked towards the backyard and said, "Back porch okay?". Mary nodded and sighed, looking at Ruthie before she headed outside, Ben following her putting his jacket on.

He walked out of the door and down the porch steps, his hands in his pockets as he turned to face Mary who's head was looking at the ground, "Look at me", he said as she slowly turned around and looked up at him, feeling nervous at what he was going to say to her. Ben then held out his arm and reached over to her, pulling a black piece of strong from around her neck, revealing a ring which was hidden under her shirt, he pulled his hand away, letting it hit his leg and nodded, "I thought so, I noticed it at dinner". Mary was holding the ring in her hand as she said, "Let me explain", Ben shook his head, "I'm not much on explanations". Mary continued anyway, "Ben, I was with Wilson on and off for years". Ben explained, speaking softly, "The only thing I take more seriously then my job is my life, and I came here to see if there was a chance that you could ever be a part of my life".

Mary looked at him sadly as he said to her, "You're really beautiful, you know that?" She looked down as he continued, "I haven't been able to get your face out of my mind, but now I think I can, so I guess it's a good thing I came here", Ben said as he looked at Mary with a sad expression on his face. "It's not like I knew you had any serious interest in me", Mary said trying to justify herself, "I thought I was just a girl that you made out with, One of the many girls that you made out with, I don't know". Ben sighed sadly with a sad smile on his face, shrugging his shoulders, "I'm not that kind of guy". Mary looked at him determined to change his mind, "Now that I know that, can't you give me another chance?". Ben shook his head and said, "No, I'm sorry, I... As beautiful as you are, I can't". Mary felt the tears starting to well in her eyes as she looked at him as he said his goodbyes to her, "Goodbye Mary", before walking off, leaving Mary to contemplate what she had just thrown away, turning to look at him once more before he walked out of her life for what she thought was for good.

*end flashback*

As they were cleaning up after dinner, Mary was still lost in her thoughts when Ben came up behind her and kissed her neck gently, wrapping his arms around her, "Penny for your thoughts". She smiled and turned around in his arms, looking at him, "I was just thinking about the first time you came to see me in Glen Oak when I was foolishly still wearing Wilson's ring around my neck and how when you left, I felt this huge hole in my heart and I never thought I would see you again", she whispered, her eyes filling with sad tears at the thought. "Hey baby", he said as he rubbed his hand in circles around her back, trying to comfort her, "Look where we are now, we are finally together, married and happy", he said as he pulled back to look into her eyes, "I'm so glad you came to find me in Buffalo".

"Me too", she whispered as she stood up slightly on her tip toes and brushed her lips against his, and smiled warmly as he began slowly leading her in a dance when the song 'In the still of the night' by the five satins came on, leaning her head on his shoulder, sighing happily as she enjoyed the moment. It felt like the right time to tell him, so without moving a muscle, she whispered In his ear, "Ben, There has been something I have been meaning to tell you", she said as she moved her head to look into his eyes. He moved his fingers along her cheek bone and brushed away a few stray hairs, nodding her for to continue. She managed to pull the test out of her pocket and brought it up to show him, "You're gonna be a Daddy".

Ben looked at the positive test and then at Mary, his eyes wide with excitement as his heart raced processing the news, "Really?.." Ben asked, his voice shaking slightly as he spoke. He had been thinking about having a child of his own ever since his niece Savannah was born 7 years ago, to have a family of his own was his biggest dream and now it was all coming true. Mary smiled wide and nodded at his question, Ben picked her up and spun her around in his arms happily before setting her down again, looking into her eyes as he placed his hands on her cheek and kissed her lips softly, brushing his thumbs over her cheeks, pulling away with a big grin on his face, "This is incredible baby, Wow", He said chuckling as he continued, "I love you so much Mary Kinkirk", He whispered as he leant in to kiss her lips once more.

Mary giggled with joy as her stomach filled with excited butterflies as her husband spun her around, She had been almost certain this would be his reaction, but it was such a relief to finally tell him and know he was happy with the news that they were going to have a baby. "I love you too Ben Kinkirk", She said back as their lips met and she kissed him back lovingly. He smiled as he pulled away and reached into the cupboard to grab two coffee mugs and made them each a hot chocolate. Ever since Ben and Mary had gotten back together, it was a custom for them to celebrate happy occasions with a mug their favourite hot drink which was hot chocolate.

Once he finished making them, he handed one over to Mary who smiled, her heart melting that Ben remembered their wacky little tradition and held her mug up, looking at Ben as he did the same and their glasses clinked together as they both said at the same time, "To us". Mary took a sip of her hot drink and smiled, nodding her approval. "Mmmm.. yummy". She took Ben's hand, turning off the kitchen light and led her husband into the living room where they sat drinking their hot chocolate, Mary leaning her back into Ben's shoulder as they talked about the pregnancy and how she came to do a pregnancy test, both feeling happy and content as Ben let his hands wrap protectively around Mary's stomach, vowing to himself to always be there to protect his wife and unborn baby.


	5. First appointment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> have decided to try to keep to a time line so that it is more accurate. I don't know if I will do base each chapter on each month of pregnancy at this point but using some pregnancy apps on my iPad, I have worked out her last menstrual period, the date of conception and her due date and will go off that.

2nd July 2012

It was now roughly seven weeks later and Mary was twelve weeks and one day pregnant, her pregnancy had been confirmed by her GP Dr Ava Campbell and it was now the day of her first ultrasound scan to measure a collection of fluid which is found under the skin at the back of a baby's neck. All babies have some of this fluid but it is a good way of assessing wether a baby is likely to have Down Syndrome as most babies with Down syndrome have an increases amount of this fluid. She had a blood test at 10 weeks for the best results and now was going to have her scan today. Mary had been experiencing a lot of nausea and vomiting and was also getting more tired but had not gained a lot of weight, but was very slightly starting to show, only to the untrained eye.

Mary and Ben were keeping her pregnancy quiet till her twelfth week and was planning on letting the family know the next sunday night at dinner after they have the scan and make sure everything was okay. The only people to know was Lucy, Kevin and Savannah and Savannah was being a very good girl for keeping the secret that Mary and Ben were thinking of buying her a special little present for keeping her word and not saying anything. Mary was grateful that she had her sister there to support her all through this, she was feeling a little nervous and unsure about all the pregnancy symptoms she was going through so it was nice to have someone she was close with whom she could talk to.

It was 6:30am in the morning and her appointment was for 10:00am that day. Ben had been on call and was called into fight a house fire at around 2:20am that morning. She had trouble getting back to sleep after Ben left but eventually felt tired enough to fall back asleep. Her alarm went off just after 6:30am and she groaned softly in displeasure, reaching over to turn the alarm off while she buried her face back into the pillows, her eyes still closed. Ben who was back home in bed let her rest for a few minutes making her believe she wouldn't be disturbed and then leant over her, his warm breath on her ear as his hands rested on her lower back, massaging her back gently, whispering in her ear, "Time to get up babe". She groaned again but slowly turned around and let her eyes blink open slowly and smiled as she saw her husband looking down at her.

"Hey.. When did you get back", she said softly as she covered her mouth, yawning a little and then used her hands to push herself up on the bed into a sitting position. "About an hour and a half ago, It was just a small kitchen fire", he answered as he leant forward to kiss her lips gently, his arms wrapping around her as he pulled her into his lap, her smile widening as she settled comfortably in his arms. "Are you going to be fine to come with me?" she asked, looking into his eyes, "If you need some more sleep, I can see if Lucy can come with me". Ben shook his head and kissed her nose playfully, "I'm fine baby.. I'm not gonna miss out on this for anything". He lifted her off his lap and sat her back on the bed and kissed her lips quickly, "I'll draw you a bath". She smiled, nodding as she grabbed her phone to check her messages.

She saw an unread message from her sister Lucy and smiled as she read it, 'Hey Mare, Just thinking of you today and if you need me to go with you if Ben is working, just let me know, love ya'. Mary clicked on reply and answered back, 'Thanks Luce, Ben is on call but has gotten the morning off to come with me, love ya too'. She smiled as she stood up, putting her robe on and walking into the bathroom where Ben was putting some bubble bath into the water and took off her robe, hanging it up on door and then moved over to the bath and slipped off her silk nightgown and underwear, placing her hand on Ben's shoulder as she stepped into the tub. "Thanks babe", she said as she moved to sit down and sighed contently, letting herself relax. "I'll get some breakfast started for you", he said as he leant over to kiss her head and then walked out of the bathroom and downstairs to make her a healthy breakfast, stifling back a yawn.

Mary noticed the tall glass of milk sitting on the side of the bath and smiled taking a sip, loving how caring her husband was and them set it back down, taking the hairband out of her long blond hair and let herself slide down into the tub, wetting her hair and then pushing herself back up with her foot to a sitting position. She reached around for the all in one shampoo/conditioner bottled and opened it, letting some drip out onto her open palm and then gently massaged it into her hair. As she began washing her hair, she once again became lost in her thoughts again, thinking back to their wedding night when she and Ben had their first bath together, she smiled as she remembered how nervous yet excited she was about Ben seeing her body for the first time.

*flash back*

1st January 2012

After their reception was over at the exclusive Glenoak Country club, The newlyweds had gone back to their room for the night, they walked hand in hand, giggling and smiling, their gold wedding bands sparkling in the dim light. As they got to their honeymoon suit, Ben unlocked the door and then with a big smile, gathered his new wife who was still giggling into his arms, carrying her with one arm around her back and the other arm under her knees, looking into her eyes as he whispered, "I love you Mary Kinkirk". Mary smiled, biting her lip as she whispered softly back, "I love you too Ben Kinkirk". He pressed his lips gently to hers and kissed her softly, Mary moaning softly as he walked them into the room, closing the door with his foot as he deepened the kiss, Mary's arms wrapping around his neck a little tighter.

He walked them into the bedroom any sat her down on the bed and smiled as she patted the spot next to her and he sat down beside her, breathing a huge sigh of relief, "We did it baby", he exclaimed happily, as he took her hand in his and lifted her hand to his mouth, pressing his lips softly down onto her new wedding ring. "We sure did honey, I can't believe we are finally married". She giggled with glee as she stared into the eyes of her husband, loving that she could finally call him that word. "So what should we do now?", she asked him, although she was tired, she was feeling way too excited to sleep. He thought for a moment and remembered the big spacious spa bath which was in their bathroom and smiled playfully at his new wife, "How bout we try that spa bath out?" He said in a seductive, yet still playful tone.

Mary bit her lower lip, blushing softly as she nodded. Although she had always been fascinated with sex and was known as the Camden bad girl, she was still very innocent in other ways. She was always very respectful of her father's religious beliefs that sex before marriage was not acceptable and so although she had made out with many guys before, she never crossed the line. She knew when to say no and never felt pressured into going further. As soon as she met Ben, the thought did cross her mind that perhaps this could be the man who she would feel comfortable and safe giving her virginity away to. Even after their breakup just after Matt and Sarah's wedding, she never let herself get close to other men. Now as she continued to lose herself in her husband's eyes, she was thankful to have a Minister for a father to give her support and guidance to do the right thing.

Ben kissed her lips softly, loving how his wife opened up and allowed him to see her vulnerable side, he untangled their hands and gestured to her to stay put as he stood up and walked into the bathroom to draw the bath and added bubble bath. He noticed there was candles situated all around the tub and he found some matches in the drawer and lit the candles, smiling softly setting up some soft romantic music, grabbing some champagne and two glasses along with strawberries and cream and brought them into the bathroom. He then walked to the bathroom doorway and leant against it, gesturing with his fingers for his wife to join him, slipping off his suit jacket and untied his tie, removing them both and letting them rest over the towel rack.

Mary giggled seeing his gesture, removed her heels and then stood up walked over to him, breathing in deeply as he held out his arms to her. She grinned and took the final steps into his warm and loving arms, feeling the butterflies in her stomach as he kissed her lips again, his hands moving around her back to untie the satin material which was holding the top half of her dress up. It was a cream strapless dress with the top half beaded with pearls and lace, fitting tightly, the back being tied up with satin strings and the flowed out from just under the bust down. As Ben worked on un-tying her dress, Mary worked on taking his vest off, sliding it off his shoulders and then working on unbuttoning his shirt, her hands moving up his chest, her eyes lever leaving his as she pushed the shirt off his shoulders.

Ben let out a soft gasp, hie heart pounding in his chest as he felt her hands softly moving up his chest, his own hands un-tying the last time and his fingers splayed out, pushing the fabric down as she placed her hands on his shoulders to steady herself as she stepped out of the dress. She was left wearing her cream lacy push up, strapless bra and matching lacy underwear, the blush on her cheeks growing as she saw Ben's eyes travel up and down her body. "Too many clothes", she managed to whisper as she pulled Ben towards her by his belt and unbuckled it, slowly unzipping the pants, her fingers catching in the waist band as she pushed them down off his hips, and he stepped out of them.

Once they had both removed the last articles of clothing, Ben pulled Mary in close and kissed her lips, his hands exploring her soft naked skin, "You are so beautiful", he whispered against her lips as he closed bathroom door and helped her into the tub, stepping in after her. "You are pretty handsome yourself Mr Kinkirk". She said blushing again softly, nervous still, but wanting to just be close to him. She looked around the room and breathed in deep, "This is so perfect". Although Lucy was always the true old fashioned romantic in the family, Mary appeared tough and rough on the outside, but on the inside, she craved and burned for romance like this. This was how she always envisioned her first time to be and as Ben poured them each a glass of champagne and handed her a glass, her heart raced thinking she was the luckiest woman in the world.

*end flash back*

Mary sighed contently and happily as she finished washing herself and then pulled the bath plug, stepping out carefully as she reached for her towel. She dried herself off and wrapped it around her body and the used a second towel to dry her hair, walking back into the bedroom and sitting down at her vanity chest to do her hair and makeup. Once she was done, she smiled, standing up to get dress. She chose a simple long flowing flowery white dress and slip on sandals with a chunky corkscrew heel. She gave her self a once over in her mirror and nodded, grabbing her phone off the charger and then walked down stairs, feeling hungrier by the moment as she smelt the sweet scent of the pancakes with strawberries, bananas and cinnamon and maple syrup and the hot chocolate he had made for her.

"Wow, that smells delicious baby", she said as she sat down at the table as Ben brought her breakfast over to her. She kissed his cheek as he leant down to her and smiled, "Thanks honey", he answered back, "Anything for you my love..". He brought his own plate and mug over to the table and sat down opposite her as they began to eat their breakfast. Mary loved her husbands breakfasts, he always managed to outdo himself and she nodded, moaning a soft approval as she took a bite, swallowing her mouthful. "This is amazing", she said, as she cut another piece and took a other bite. "I'm glad you like it, I made sure not to use any food that you shouldn't eat while pregnant". Mary's heart melted hearing that her husband had taken the time to research and make sure not to give her anything she shouldn't have.

By the time they finished breakfast and cleaned up, it was just after 8:30am so they still had an hour and a half before her appointment, Mary decided take some time to sit down in the living room to grade some of students latest exams and Ben headed upstairs have another quick shower and change his clothes. By around 9:20am, they were both ready to leave. Ben headed downstairs after calling his boss reminding him he was taking the morning off and then called out to Mary, "Babe, you ready to go?", he said as he grabbed his wallet and keys off the kitchen counter. Mary nodded and smiled as she put her papers away and left them on the coffee table, standing up and got her bag, putting it on over her shoulder. "I'm ready honey, let's go". He gave her a kiss as they walked to the door and then Ben locked up, and pressed the button to unlock his car.

They got to the hospital around 9:40am, Ben parked and went to open his wife's door, helping her out, she smiled nervously and hugged him, "It's gonna be all good baby", he whispered, rubbing her back to try to calm her nerves. She nodded and he closed the door, locking it and took her hand in his, and walked up to where her appointment was in the ultrasound department was. She walked up to the desk and announced herself and the receptionist asked her insurance details and referral and then kindly pointed to the waiting area and that it shouldn't be much longer. They walked hand in hand to the waiting area and sat down, Mary spotting a baby magazine and she picked it up, and began to read as she waited for her name to be called, Ben noticing a sports magazine and decided to read that.

It was only about 10 minutes later when the ultrasound technician came out of the room with a file and looked around asking, "Mary Kinkirk?". Mary and Ben stood up, putting their magazines back down onto the table and followed him into a room. "Okay Mrs Kinkirk, I need you to change into this gown and hop up onto the bed here", he said patting the bed, "There is a little room over there", he said as he pointed to it, "where you can change". She nodded and smiled, "Thanks", she said as she took the gown from him and passed her bag to Ben, walking into the little room, taking her dress and shoes off and changing into the gown, folding her clothes up and leaving them on the little bench seat. She opened the door and walked back out, and headed to the bed and laid down, Ben chuckling a little.

"What?", Mary asked as she looked at her husband, hearing him chuckle. "Nothing babe, just you look so adorable". She blushed and shook her head, Ben chuckling again, leaning into kiss her as the technician walked back out, clapping his hands together, "Okay guys.. Lets get this show on the road". They both pulled away and looked at the technician nodding, Mary's nerves coming back again as she held her hand out to Ben who took it and squeezed gently, "Lets do this", she said back as the technician sat down and explained the procedure to them both. He could sense they were both nervous and made sure to calm them and keep them both at ease. He lifted the gown up and told her the gel would feel a little cold as he squeezed some out onto her belly and then began looking around with the ultrasound to find what he needed to find to do his tests, Mary and Ben looking on nervously knowing then had an hours wait after to find out the results.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I don't pretend to know much about the pregnancy stuff, the only stuff I do know has come from when my sister was pregnant and the rest I have googled, so I tried to keep it as accurate as I possibly could without going into too much medical detail. The other members of the Camden family will be making appearances, possibly in the next couple of chapters as Mary and Ben finally tell the rest of the family their good news.


	6. A day out and a night in

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer.. I don't own anyone except the waitress.. I was thinking of bringing the character of Amy Juergen's from the secret life in but then I decided I didn't want a cross over so now my waitress Amy is just a made up character however I did think of Shailene Woodley as I wrote it as I wanted the waitress to be a cool hip young wife who was sweet and soft and she fit the bill. Not sure if she will be making any further appearances yet.

2nd July 2012 continued...

Two hours later and Mary and Ben's appointment was over and done with, they smiled at each other reaching out for each other's hands as they saw the heart beat for the first time, looking awed and felt a bit of relief knowing all the results came back negative and she was on her way to having a happy and healthy pregnancy. "So, what should we do now babe,", Ben asked his wife as he held her hand as they walked out of the hospital and back to their car. "Don't you have to be back at work soon hon?", Mary replied as she turned her head to look over at him. He shook his head smiling as he unlocked the door and opened Mary's door for her, helping her in, "No, when you were in the bathroom, work called and said I could take the rest if the day off".

Mary smiled wide as she got in and set her bag down onto the floor of the car and watched as Ben closed her door and then came over to his side of the car and got in, "That's great baby.. Mm I was thinking..", she said as she buckled her seatbelt and rested her hand on her stomach, "Maybe we could go somewhere for lunch and then maybe a movie". She said while Ben closed the door and buckled his own seatbelt, starting the car up. "That sounds good, How bout we go to that new little Italian pizza and pasta restaurant?". Ben answered as he carefully backed out of the car park and turned the wheel, changing gears and then driving off. He knew Mary loved pizza and pasta and he was kind of hungry for a pizza himself. "I could go for a pizza", Mary said, nodding her head at his suggestion smiling.

"Me too babe", he said as he moved his hand over to knee and squeezed gently, he drove to the restaurant and found a park, turning the car off and un-buckling his seatbelt as he got out, and then walked around getting the door for his wife, holding his hand, Mary smiled as she took it and stepped out of the car, closing the door and leaning into her husband, kissing his lips, "Thanks baby", she said smiling wide as she looped her arm around his, using her free hand to put her handbag on her shoulder. "Your welcome", he said as walked with her, pressing the button on his keys and locking the car before heading into the restaurant. As they walked to the door, he opened it up for his wife and then walked in after her, waiting at the sign to be seated.

The waitress came over a few minutes later and spoke, "Sorry for the wait, Is it a table for two?", she asked looking at them both. Ben nodded and replied, "Yes, table for two". She grabbed two menus and smiled, "Follow me", she said as she walked towards a table with Ben and Mary following after her. She stopped at a table in a private corner of the restaurant and smiled, "This is one of our best tables in the house", she said as they sat down and handed them each a menu. She grabbed her order pad and pen out, "Can I get you any drinks to start with?". Ben quickly took looked at the drinks menu and smiled, nodding, "I think I will just have a beer", he said, the waitress nodding and turned to Mary as she wrote his order down. "I'll just have a banana smoothie", she said as she looked back at the waitress. "Well, I will give you a few moments and be back with your drinks", she said smiling as she finished writing down the order and walked off.

The both looked at the menus and Ben looked at her, smiling, "How bout we get a large pizza to share babe, we could get hard and half if we want different toppings", he asked softly as he looked back down at the menu. Mary looked up from the menu and nodded, "Sounds perfect". She said as she looked back down and looked at what she could have. They made their decisions just as the waitress came back with their drinks, setting them down on the table, "So.. You two ready to order?", she said in a cheery voice. "We would like a large pizza, half and half.. One meat lovers and the other half Hawaiian", Ben said as he closed his menu, looking back at her. "And some garlic bread and cheese and herb bread". He added as she scribbled the order out, nodding as she re-read the order out to them.

She took their menus and smiled as she walked away, Mary taking her glass and sipping her drink slowly, Ben reaching for his beer. "So.. Now we know that everything is fine, we should think about telling the rest of the family.. Like my Mom and Sister and your family", Ben said as he sat his beer back down on the table and looked at his wife softly. Mary nodded and smiled, putting her drink down and clasping her hands together, "We should.. I was thinking this weekend at Sunday night dinner but I just realized it's the 4th July in two days so how bout then?". She asked him, excitedly. "4th July is a perfect time to tell everyone our good news", he said as he took her hand in his and gazed into each other's eyes. As they did, they were both reminded of the first time Ben and Kevin had diner with Mary and Lucy.

*flash back*

22nd April 2002

Mary and Lucy walked into the restaurant, Lucy nervously paying with her hands and Mary looking around the room sighing before holding her hands out and saying "He's late, let's go". Lucy looked at her sister and responded, "He's not late, we're early, and we're not going anywhere". Just the Kevin walked in and spotted them, walking over to them smiling. As soon as Lucy noticed him walking towards them, she grinned. Kevin looked at her and said, "You look great". Lucy smiled shyly back at him while he then turned and looked at Mary, "You look nice too", he said. Mary answered with a surprised smile, "Thanks". He then turned his attention back to Lucy, "My brother should be here any minute, we came in separate cars". He looked up as and said, "Oh there he is".

Ben walked around Mary and Lucy and looked at the girls as Kevin introduced them, trying to keep the surprised look off his face, the sisters also stood there with a surprised expression on their faces, "So this is my brother Ben, Ben this is Lucy and her sister". Mary shook her head as Kevin continued, "I'm sorry, I don't remember your name". Ben spoke up and said, "It's Mary", still not taking his eyes off her. Kevin looked at Ben surprised now and asked, "How do you know?". Mary cut him off, "Oh, we've already met". She answered for Ben, Kevin and Lucy exchanging a glance as Ben and Mary kept their gaze on each other, Ben looking a little upset at seeing her there and Mary moved her gazed down letting out a long breath sighing as she attempted a small smile as she looked back at him.

As Lucy and Kevin went to take their seats, Ben had taken Mary by her arm and pulled her over to the other side of the room, letting go and then asking, "Okay, what are you doing here?". Mary looked back and pointed, before speaking, "We should get back to the table". Ben said a little more forcefully this time, "Forger the table, tell me why you're here" as his gaze intensified a little. Mary folded her arms across her chest and her gaze marched his in it's intensity. "Lucy made me come, I think she really likes your brother". Ben answered back, "No, not what are you doing in this restaurant, what are you doing in Buffalo?", he asked, putting his hands on his hips a little defiantly. Mary continued to have her arms folded as she took on a stubborn attitude, looking down. "I told you when I was back in Glenoak that you and I don't have a future, you're not mature enough".

He continued as he looked anywhere but at her, "You don't know what you want out of life, let alone a relationship and you're still hung up on Wilson", he said, his hands still firmly planted on his hips. "I'm over him", Mary said back to him hands still folded as she looked back up at him. "Well, what about Robbie?", he asked, "I'm over him too". She said almost smirking as if to say you're running out of reasons. "And now I know what I want out of life". She continued. Ben spoke up, "Well, you can't have me". Mary scoffed, shaking her head and looking away at his comment, and then looked back at him amused, "Just try and tell me you came back to Buffalo for something other then me". He said closing his eyes for a second trying to compose himself. Mary nodded, "I'm moving back to Buffalo for something other then you", she confirmed speaking almost sarcastically.

"You're moving here?", Ben asked looking more then a little surprised at her answer, "Sort of", she responded shrugging her shoulders a little. "And it has nothing to do with me", he said not entirely believing her. She shook her head, and he looked at her again, "Good, because I have a girlfriend", he said hating to do this knowing he had to see the look on her face, but he knew it had to be done. He walked away to head back to the table before she had time to say anything else, leaving her standing there looking stunned, surprised and a little confused that he had met someone else already seeing as how it had only been three months since they had last spoken at her parents house. She knew he had made it clear he didn't want to see her again, but she also knew he still cared for her. She could see it the moment she looked into his eyes earlier in the evening. She walked back to the table sadly knowing it was going to be torture but trying to make sure it wasn't ruined for Lucy.

Later on as they were finishing up their dinner, Mary and Ben sat next to each other uncomfortably while looking directly at their siblings who were in a deep conversation, not even noticing their siblings for a while until Ben pointed to a waiter who was walking by and said, "Can I get the cheque?". Kevin and Lucy looked up at him and Kevin answered, "We haven't even has dessert". Ben then pointed to Mary and said, "Did you know that Mary was gonna be a police officer? Then she gave firefighting a shot and now", he said as he looked at her, "Umm, I'm sorry what's your career this week?". Lucy then explained, "Mary and I go to college together in Glenoak". Mary looked at Ben and said, "What I do in my life is really none of your business".

Ben looked away and then Kevin chimed in, "You know, it's great to finally meet you Mary, Ben talks about you all the time... It's Mary this and Mary that and Mary has the most beautiful". For the second time that evening, Mary cut Kevin off and said, "Ben talks about me all the time?", looking at Kevin strangely after what Ben had told her earlier. "Well, maybe just.. He talks about you all the time". He confirmed, as Lucy looked at him. "Talking about me all the time must make Ben's girlfriend very uncomfortable", Mary stated looking unconvinced of Ben's word now. "Ben doesn't have a girlfriend". Kevin said as Ben him a death stare and Kevin said in response, "Quit looking at me, you don't have a girlfriend". Mary looked at him wanting an explanation, "So I lied about having a girlfriend.. I only did it because I didn't want you to think you and I had a chance because we don't", he said looking back at her.

He continued on, looking slightly away, "Whatever chance we had, you blew when I was in Glenoak". Mary looked down as Lucy and Kevin have each other a look and Mary looked back at Ben, "I know you still care about me.. The way you looked at me in my parents living room.. The way you held my hand, You care.. You still care", she said still looking at him, speaking from the heart. "You're just too stubborn to admit it". She stopped, took a quick breath and continued, "Is it because when you came to see me, I made the huge mistake of not being over Wilson? A man that I dated on and off for almost four years. A man I almost married". Ben spoke, not wanting to look at her, "I told you, I take my relationships very seriously and you don't seem to be serious about anything".

She looked at him more intensely again, "You're just scared, you're afraid that I could hurt you and I could", she said looking down, "and you could hurt me" looking back at him, she kept speaking, "but maybe this time we both get it right and nobody gets hurt". She spoke more softly this time, "Maybe we'll both end up in the kind of relationship that we want.. The kind of relationship we deserve". She stopped and looked at him, "So what do you say?". She asked hopefully. He looked at her and then looked away, sighing sadly, unsure of his decision now, still not willing to say anything. Mary exhaled sharply and looked down, "Well as much as I like you, I'm not gonna wait around while you decide if you have the guts to start over with a new girlfriend", looking at him briefly then looking away again, turning her gaze to Lucy, pointing to outside, "Luce, I'm gonna take a cab and I'll meet you at the apartment, I'm sure Kevin can give you a ride back".

Lucy sat forward and said, "No", but Mary stopped her and said, "No you stay, don't ruin your night, my nights already ruined", she said sadly looking back at Ben who looked back at her with a steely gaze. She looked back at Kevin and said, "Thanks for dinner" and he nodded. She turned to Ben for one last time and said, "Bye Ben, have a nice life", standing up and grabbing her jacket from the chair shrugging it on as she walked away. Kevin leant forward and said, "Don't be a fool man, don't let her get away, take a chance, you know you love her". Ben sighed and looked at him quickly pushing back his chair as he walked out. Mary had a stain on both her cheeks where she was crying as she waited for a cab.

Ben walked out, grabbing her arm and turning her around, placing both his hands on her arms, "You're right, I'm scared.. I've only ever had one serious relationship in my life and it took me so long to get over her", he said looking into her eyes, "I just didn't". Mary was looking heartbroken still and he continued, "Please.. I'm sorry, don't go.. I'm being a jerk and I want you to stay". She looked him in the eyes as he leant forward, looking at her lips longingly and brushed them softly over hers and she kissed him back, both wrapping their arms around each other, Mary's hands moving to his shoulders and Ben's to her back as they deepened the kiss, both missing the way it felt to be in each other's arms and knowing how right it was.

Ben and Mary went back to Mary's apartment and they were sitting on the couch talking, "So that's why you came back to Buffalo?", he asked sitting back on the couch comfortably. Mary nodded and gestured with her hand, "I finally know what I wanna do with my life and it feels great". Ben looked away with a smile and chuckled to himself, "Well I really thought you came back to Buffalo just for me". Mary smiled and nodded as she explained, "Well, I had a choice of several cities for a base, but I chose Buffalo", she said softly, gazing at him. "I chose you.. Hoping you might choose me too". Ben looked back at her and said, But let's take it slow okay?, I mean neither of us is really ready to rush into anything".

Mary looked down shyly nodding again and back at him smiling, "I'll take it as slow as you want". She looked at him as she moved herself close, biting her lower lip a bit nervously, her heart beating fast, "Or as fast as you want" she said coyly as she moved her arm up over him behind the couch. Ben smiled wide as he spoke, "Are you trying to seduce me?", he asked his eyebrows raised a little, "I'm just trying to kiss you". She answered back, "Why didn't you say so?", he asked with her quickly coming back with, "Well I thought I just did", as she closed the gap between them, placing her hand on his jaw line and gently pressed her lips to his, the, both kissing slow and sweetly, moving their heads for a better angle and then Mary pulled away, "Maybe we should take it a little faster then slow", Ben said smiling. Mary agreed, "medium it is".

She then reached over with her right hand and pulled her sleeve up, looking sr her watch, "I wonder where Lucy is, it's late", she said looking around, "My brother is totally trustworthy", Mary laughed and smiled, "Heh, I'm not worried about Lucy, I'm worried about Kevin, when Lucy likes someone, she can be a tad intense", she said explaining to Ben who responded by saying, "Do you want me to wait till she gets home?". Mary shook her hand and said, "No, I'll be okay". Be then leant forward, placing his hand on Mary's knee as he went to stand up, saying, "Well in that case, I better get going". They both stood at the same time, Mary reaching for his hand as she walked to the door to let him out, turning around and grabbing his shirt as they kissed again.

They pulled away smiling, and Ben said, "I'll call you in the morning". Mary looked back at him, "medium remember". He smiled wider, "I'll call you in the afternoon". She patted his arm approving and turning away to open the door, both looking surprised to see Lucy and Kevin kissing in the hallway. Ben cleared his throat hoping to get his attention, Mary smiling. That didn't work, so Mary then cleared her throat a bit more forcefully. When they didn't work, they both looked at each other and Ben said loudly, "Kevin!". Kevin pulled away and looked towards Ben, Lucy seeing them both and said "Hi". Ben walked out the door, "Come on Kev, let's go". Kevin looked back at Lucy and said, "I had a great time tonight". Ben replied with his hands in his hips, "We can all see that, come on say goodnight". They said goodnight and went in for another kiss, Mary rolling her eyes as she walked over and pulled Lucy in the door, waving as she closed the door".

Kevin looked at Ben as they walked away and said, " Did you know Lucy is going to be a Minister", Ben just rolling his eyes as they walked away. Inside Lucy said to Mary with her hands in her pockets, "Man, I love Buffalo.. This is a fun town", both giggling and smiling as Lucy walked away to get ready for bed, Mary feeling a lot happier then she had in a long time.. Ben made her feel something, she knew that and if she had to admit.. She felt something for him the first time they kissed.. It had more to do then just feeling like kissing him. It had felt so right when she felt his lips on hers that first time that she couldn't help but kiss him back the second time. She did regret the way it played out, but she had already known before then that she was falling for him and now she had a chance to be in a relationship with him.

*end flash back*

Ben and Mary were in their own world and the waitress had to clear her throat to get their attentions. Ben looked up and smiled, apologizing as the waitress sat their pizza down onto the table along with the garlic bread and nodded her head accepting the apology with a knowing smile on her face. Working here, she saw a lot of things and she could easily tell these two were very much in love. She had been taken with the way Ben was being such a gentleman from guiding his wife to the table, his hand on the small of her back with ease as if they had done it a thousand times before to the way he held her chair out for her before she sat down.

She could tell by their wedding bands, they were married, but not sure if it was just recent. She liked to do something kind of someone everyday and had slipped a note with their meal saying it was all paid for and explaining their simple gestures of love made her rethink and reevaluate her own failing marriage and this was her way of saying thanks.

As Ben picked up a piece of pizza, he noticed the note and raised his eyebrows at Mary thinking it was the cheque, "So.. Wanna guess the cost?", he said smiling softly. It was something they always did when out for a meal. Mary shrugged guessing a number as she took a bite of her own pizza, while Ben read the note, Mary not noticing how wide his eyes got, "Umm.. I would say about $40", she said nodding her head. Ben looked up at her and she tilted her head, "Ben?", she asked thinking it was really expensive now. "This note here says our food is all paid for", he said as he handed her the note to read. Mary took it as she took another bite, Ben having a bite of his own and his wife happened to look up, spotting the waitress who had served them. They exchanged a silent thanks and Mary lifted her glass of to say cheers to her.

"Mary, we can't let her pay for our meal", he said bringing her attention back to him. "It's a really sweet gesture though, I will see if we can speak to her before we leave". They continued to eat until they were both full and Mary sat back, rubbing her full belly.. "Well, I hope you liked that, cause Mommy sure did", she said talking to the growing baby in his stomach, Ben chuckling as he watched her, knowing what an amazing mother she was going to be. "You finished babe?", he said softly, turning back for a moment to find the waitress, "I'm ready", she said as she grabbed her jacket putting in on and slung her bag around her shoulder, making sure to take the note as they went up to the desk. Ben stood up and came round, pulling her chair out for her and then pushing it back in once she move out of the way. They looked around and then decided to just go up to the desk.

The waitress who served them was behind the register taking another customers payment and smiled as they approached the desk, holding her hand up to show she was nearly finished. The other customer walked away and Ben and Mary moved closer to the desk, Ben finally speaking as he took the note from Mary and looked at the waitress who only appeared to be young.. A lot younger. "This is really sweet... ", he paused looking at her name tag, "Amy, but I am afraid we can't accept". She had expected this, and smiled wider, "It is my pleasure really.. I saw how happy and in love you two look and it made me remember how much I enjoyed this phase of my life, how I should enjoy it more", she said, her own ring shining in the light, "It made me evaluate my marriage to my husband, so please.. I feel I am getting more out of this", she said as she managed to convince them to let her pay. "Well Thank you", Mary said softly, smiling wide. "My father and sister are Ministers at the Glenoak Community church, so if you need anything, I am sure they would love to help". She nodded, "Thanks, we'll see". She said as they smiled brightly at her and then walked out.

Walking back to the car, Mary suddenly felt tired and yawned a little, Ben looking over at her as he held her hand, "How bout we skip the movie and we go home for an afternoon nap?", he asked, feeling tired himself. He had been up and busy very early and was starting to feel the effects. She really wanted to see a movie, but she didn't know if she could sit through it without falling asleep. As he unlocked the car and helped her in, she nodded and pouted a little, "Oh.. Okay". He kissed her cheek as her buckled her belt and chuckled, "I promise.. We can do it another day babe". He closed her door and got into his side, driving them back home, Mary falling asleep before he even started the car up. He drove home, stopping in the driveway and pulling up, turning the engine off and getting out, smiling to himself at how adorable she looked when she was sleeping. He unlocked the house and the went back to open her door, unbuckled her belt, closing the car door and carried her inside and up the stairs to bed, laying her down. She stirred but went back to sleep as he placed a blanket over her. He quickly went back downstairs, locked the car and the house and went back upstairs to fall asleep next to his wife.

Mary slept through the afternoon and into the early evening until she heard her phone go off. She tiredly blinked her eyes open and reached for the phone, smiling as she saw it was another message from her sister asking how everything went. Mary rang her back instead of typing a text, "Hey Luce... Yeah.. It went great, everything is fine, very healthy pregnancy and we saw the heartbeat" she was so excited at that and smiled as she looked at the little sonogram photo the doctor gave to her. "So.. No pressure or anything, but when you gonna tell Mom and Dad and everyone else?", Lucy asked, not knowing how much longer she could keep this a secret. "Ben and I plan to tell everyone at the big Camden family 4th July bbq", she said looking around, frowning slightly finally noticing Ben was not there. She saw a note on his pillow and smiled, reading it.. - Mare.. Just going to grab some things for dinner, I thought I would make risotto, I'll be home soon babe, love you -

Lucy was talking and noticed Mary not answering her back, "Mary?", she asked a little bit put out, "I'm sorry Lucy", Mary said shaking her head, "I just noticed a note Ben left me to tell me where he was while I was sleeping". She said smiling, hearing Ben moving around the kitchen. "It's okay.. Anyway.. I was saying that would be a wonderful day to tell everyone the good news, I can't wait". Lucy sounded almost more excited then Mary and Mary laughed softly. "We can't either.. We were thinking of getting Annie", (Ben and Mary's special nickname for Savannah), "A special present for being such a good girl and keeping our news a secret". Lucy smiled through the phone, loving how sweet her sister could be, "I am sure she will love that, she is into those Polly Pocket things right now, so maybe one of those". Mary nodded, "Sounds good".

Just then she heard Ben call up the stairs, "Dinner will be ready in half an hour babe". Mary held her hand to the phone calling back, "Okay Hon", She then removed her hand and kept talking to Lucy, "Well, I think I am gonna go clean up for dinner now, but I will see you soon Sis". Lucy nodded and smiled, "See you soon, love ya". Mary smiled, "love ya too". They both hung up and Mary stood up and walked to her wardrobe, changing into something a little more comfortable, washed her face and her hands, pulled her hair up and headed downstairs to have dinner with her husband.

Once dinner was over and she was settled in the living room reading, she all of a sudden felt the need to throw up. She rushed to the downstairs bathroom where she got onto her knees, her head in the toilet bowl as Ben came in after her, sitting down and rubbing her back in circles with his hand as she continued to heave into the toilet effecting getting rid of everything she had for dinner and lunch. "I'm sorry Ben", she said in a weary voice, "Dinner was wonde", she was cut off as she threw up again. "It's okay Mare, it's not your fault, I just hate seeing you like this". He said with concern. "I'll be fine babe", she said in a shaky voice, holding her stomach. "All done now baby?", he said softly, looking at her who nodded back, "Okay, let's get you into bed and get some rest now".

He picked her up, grabbing her book and took her upstairs, laying her on their bed, and settled her under the covers. He the went to their bathroom and got her a glass of water and put it on her beside table. Mary took it and began to drink quickly, Ben stopping her.. "Hold up babe.. Slow slips okay". He said and she nodded, "Yes, Dr Kinkirk", she said smirking as she spoke in a half amused and half sarcastic tone. "Get some rest", he said as kissed her cheek. She picked her phone up and called her Mom to let her know they would be there for the BBQ. Her Mom answered on the second ring, "Hello?", she asked in her soft voice as she cleared up after dinner. "Hey Mom, it's Mary.. Ben and I just wanted to tell you we would be there for the BBQ for the 4th July".

Annie smiled through the phone, she loved when her babies came home to spend time with them, "That's wonderful Mare", she said, her Mom radar on and sensing something was wrong. "You okay Mare, you don't sound too good". Mary thought to herself, 'Uhh Ohhh', hoping not to be caught out. "I'm fine Mom.. Just had a busy day and feeling a bit tired.. The heat is getting to me I think". She said hoping she sounded convincing. "Okay Mare", her Mom said, not sounding totally convinced but letting it at that for now. "I'll let you get some rest then.. We will see you and Ben on Wednesday.. Ohh and I told Lucy and Kevin but in case they forget.. Tell Ben and Kevin's Mother and step-father and Patty-Mary they are all welcome to join us if they can make it". She said as she put the phone to her ear and sponged off the counter.

Mary nodded and grabbed her iPad, making a reminded in tell them, "No problems, I'll let them know". She said knowing if it worked out with the Kinkirk family all there, they could tell everyone at the same time. "Have a good night and sleep well my baby". Annie said making Mary giggle softly at the sentiment. "I will.. You too Mom, I love you.. And tell Dad, Sam and David too". Annie smiled and nodded as she reached her hand for the phone holding it in her hand again, "Will do.. Love ya too, goodnight". Mary smiled, and said "Night Mom", before she hung up the phone. The phone call didn't sit well with Annie, she knew there was something more going on then just the heat getting to her daughter, the heat never bothered her before. She decided to talk to Eric to see what they could come up with and maybe do some sleuthing around. She hoped to know what was up before everyone came around for the family BBQ.

Mary had thought she sounded rather convincing so didn't think on it again once she had hung up the phone, and settled down in her bed, reading her book with her ducted air con turned on so she was comfortable unaware that at that same moment Annie Camden was looking around the house for her husband Eric to see if he knew anything about why Mary was not feeling very well, her next thought to ask Lucy.. If Eric didn't know.. She was sure Lucy would.. Her two eldest daughters were always close.. And had grown closer as they had gotten older. She decided to go over to Lucy and Kevin's if Eric didn't know anything. She found Eric in his study and had a word with him, he didn't know anything either and both were a little concerned. They hoped nothing was wrong with Mary, they wanted to ask Lucy but it was getting late and her family would be tucked in bed so they decided to ask in the morning.

Annie and Eric settled into bed sighing, "I hope she is okay Eric", Eric turned to his wife and rubbed her arm, putting his reading glasses down, "I'm sure everything is, let's get some sleep Annie". He said as kissed her lips softly, turning out the lights and settling down under the covers, remaining calm for Annie but feeling worried deep down inside. At the Kinkirk household, Mary had already fallen asleep and Ben came upstairs to bed, smiling at the sight of his wife sleeping soundly. He headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed, and then flipped the switch getting into bed, Mary automatically nestling into the crook of his neck, neither one aware of what was to come tomorrow from the Camden's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, it is a lot longer then normal, but I find once I start writing, it's hard to stop. I really enjoy writing it and I hope you guys enjoy reading it.
> 
> Again the flash back was taken from season 6: The ring where Mary and Lucy go to Buffalo and I did re-watch the episode. I only wrote down the parts that were relevant to Mary and Ben since this is primarily a story about them.
> 
> I am Australian so forgive me if anything is incorrect, I have been researching different things to try to be as accurate as I can and I do believe I put Mary was grading papers in one chapter.. But since then I realized the summer vacation would have started already with the time line I am going with so do please forgive me for the inconsistent information.. From now on, Mary will be on summer vacation as well.
> 
> The next couple of chapters will be devoted to the Camden's doing some sleuthing and then the 4th of July BBQ.. Don't worry.. No one will find out till Mary and Ben announce it and it will be a nice surprise they weren't expecting.


	7. Snooping, suprises and more

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except Noah and Nate Camden.. This is a long chapter but I felt I needed it to be a bit longer this chapter to get everything in that I wanted to.

3rd July 2012

*Camden Household*

Annie was woken up early by her husband kissing her forehead as he got ready for work. He had to be at the Church early to get some work done and then he had counseling sessions all day. She opened her eyes, smiling as she saw her husbands eyes watching her every move, "Good morning my love", he said as he sat on the edge of the bed. "Good morning to you", she said as she slowly sat up, looking confused. "It's only 7:30, where you going so early?", she asked him forgetting he had told her last night. "I thought I mentioned.. I had to go to the church early to get some work done and then I have counseling sessions all day", he said reminding her. She nodded and then remembered the conversation they has the night before.. "I think I need to speak to Ruthie or Lucy.. They usually know everything.. And Mary and Lucy have been really close lately", she said as she sat up more and pulled the covers off her. "Well I gotta get downstairs and grab something to eat.. ", he said smiling at her, and said as an after thought, "Good luck".

Eric put his jacket on and walked out of the bedroom, checking in on his sons who were still sleeping. He thought back and realized none of his other children even slept in late especially during the school vacation. It wasn't a surprise to see David still curled up in bed as he had been through a lot this last year with him being diagnosed with a blood disorder called ITP. His body killed off his platelets which were the things that clotted your blood, without the platelets.. You risked internal bleeding, so David had been through many hospital visits and treatments trying to get them back up. Some of the treatments made him not feel well and have some bad side effects including feeling tired, he had just recently had another lot of treatment so Eric decided to let him sleep as long as he needed to.

As he peeked his head in on Sam, he saw he was sitting up in bed and rubbing the sleep away from his eyes, "Morning Dad", he said as he saw his father walk past and sneak his head around the corner. David had their old room which used to be Ruthie and Simon's room and Sam had the room which used to belong to Lucy and Mary and then Matt and Robbie's room. "Good morning son, you ready to come down for something to eat?". He nodded as he jumped up off his bed and walked out of his room, still in his pajamas. "Dave still asleep?", he asked as they walked downstairs. "Yeah, I think he is still feeling the effects of his last treatment", Eric explained to his son, moving to the fridge and then putting the coffee on and starting to get breakfast organized for himself and Sam.

Just then, Ruthie came in from the back door, her and Martin were now living in the garage apartment while they were saving for their first house together just as Lucy and Kevin did. Martin decided to following in his father's footsteps and joined the Marines and he was currently away on a training exercise for two weeks so sadly he wouldn't be joining the family for the Fourth of July celebrations. "Hey Dad, Sam", she said as she went over to the coffee pot and reached for two mugs, pouring her dad and herself a cup of coffee. "Hey there Ruthie, sleep,well?", her dad asked her as he took the mug she handed him. He knew she didn't sleep as well when her husband was away and both he and Annie had told her she was welcome to stay in the house in her old bedroom upstairs but she declined saying she needed to get used to it for when they had their own house.

"I slept okay Dad, I spoke with Martin last night so I was able to sleep better last night then I have in a while", she said honestly as he reached over and hugged her, Sam having made himself some toast and was now sitting down and eating it. Annie had been in the shower and heard Ruthie come in, so she shortened her shower and got out, dressing and quickly drying her hair and then came down the stairs, "My babbbyyy", she said as she walked down the stairs and held her arms out for her daughter who pulled away from her father to hug her mother. "Good morning Mom", Ruthie said giggling a little at her mothers affection. Annie pulled away and spoke, "Ruthie.. Do you happen to know any news about Mary?", she asked looking at her. Ruthie creased her brows and frowned, "new.. What news Mom?".

"She was not feeling well last night and she hasn't seemed herself over the last couple of weeks", Annie answered back as she got herself a cup of coffee. "Honestly Mom.. I have no idea this time.. Whatever it is.. I don't know". Annie nodded and looked at her daughter more closely and decided she was telling the truth.. "But if you do find out.. Be sure to let me know", She said as she shoved a piece of toast in her mouth, smirking a little. Ruthie honestly didn't know but she knew if something was up, and she didn't know about it.. Her mother would not have any luck snooping around. "Maybe Lucy knows something", she added as he sat down at the table to eat her toast and drink her coffee. Eric chuckled and kissed Annie's forehead and looked at his watch.. "I best be going.. I'll be home in time for dinner". He said as he grabbed his briefcase and walked out to the car.

*Meanwhile at the Kinkirk household*

Mary and Ben both had a bad night.. She spent the majority of it in the bathroom vomiting and Ben was up with her as he tried to comfort her and make sure she was okay. He rubbed her back and kept her hair held back and held her in his arms in the moments she didn't have her head stuck in the toilet. She had finally stopped vomiting about 6:30am and curled back up in bed, cuddling up to her pillows as a Ben pulled the covers back over her, kissing her forehead. "Get some more sleep babe", he said softly as he pulled her hair away from her face. "You have to go to work babe?", she asked weakly, letting her eyelids flutter open slowly. He nodded and smiled warmly at her, "For a little while sweetie.. I'll get Lucy or Kev to check in on you every now and then". She nodded and groaned again, Ben looking at her with concern.

"You need the bucket Mare?". She took a few deep breathes and held her stomach, shaking her head. "No.. I'm fine". She said as she closed her eyes once again. "I can stay home if you need me to?".. She smiled softly and shook her head, "I'm okay baby.. Just need some sleep". He kissed her and then stood up, getting ready for work. She nodded and let out a little noise to let him know she heard him and fell asleep again as he dressed. Once he was dressed, he kissed her goodbye and headed downstairs for a quick breakfast and a coffee, sighing as he opened the fridge up knowing it was going to be a long day being that he had so little sleep. After his finished his breakfast, he rang Kevin and Lucy, hoping that one of them would be able to check in on his wife.

Savannah picked the phone up, "Kinkirk Residence.. Who's calling?", came a soft little voice. Ben smiled wide and answered, "Hey there pretty girl.. It's Uncle Ben". She smiled and exclaimed, "Uncle Ben.. Hi.. When you coming for a visit?", she asked happily. Ben chuckled and leaned against the kitchen counter. "Well.. Soon hopefully.. We will see each other tomorrow though.. Is your Mom or Dad there?", he asked as he took a sip of his coffee. "I'll go get one of them", she said as she took the portable phone into kitchen where Lucy was reading the paper. "Mommy.. It's Uncle Ben", she said as she handed the phone to her. Ben explained to Lucy what was going on and if she could check in on Mary during the day. "Sure, of course I can"' she said, nodding, telling Ben she would call her a little later. "Thanks Luce", he said as he hung the phone up.

"Mommy", Savannah said as she walked over to her mother, "Is Aunt Mary okay?", she asked feeling a little worried. Lucy smiled as she picked up her daughter and sat her in her lap. "She is okay sweetie.. She is just feeling a little unwell.. But that is all normal baby". Savannah snuggled into her mom and nodded, "Is Uncle Matt, Aunt Sarah and the boys coming tomorrow?", Lucy smiled and kissed her daughters cheek, "'I think they are sweetie". A little later in the morning after Lucy had done some housework and Savannah was coloring at the table, the door bell rang and Lucy stood up, with her daughter still in her arms and walked to the door and opened it. "Mom!", she exclaimed, surprised to see her mother so early in the morning. "Nanna", Savannah said as she jumped down from Lucy's arms into her grandmothers. "Hey there my baby girls", Annie said as she hugged them both.

Once the greetings were over, they all went and sat in the kitchen, "So.. Mom.. What brings here this morning?", Lucy asked as she looking back at her mother, as she stood at the counter to make them both some coffee. "Well, I was talking with Mary last night and she said she wasn't feeling very well and was tired.. I also remember her not feeling well for a while.", she said as she turned her head to look at her daughter who was busy making coffee, her heart racing a million miles hoping she wouldn't find out and Savannah wouldn't say anything. " I was wondering if you had any idea on what was wrong with her?". Lucy kept her body turned the other way to try to figure out a good lie and then turned around, "Mary is sick?" She asked putting on her best concerned look. "I had no idea Mary was still sick Mom, is she okay?".

Lucy busied herself getting something for eat for morning tea and then set the Oreo cookies out onto the table and brought Savannah her milk and the coffee for herself and her Mom. "You didn't know she was sick?"Annie said, creasing her eyebrows a little, not sure if she should believe her. "And what do you mean still sick?", she added as she took her coffee and had a sip. "No.. I mean I knew she had a cold about a month ago but I didn't realize she was still unwell", she managed to say as convincingly as she could. Luckily Savannah remembered her promise to her Aunt Mary and Uncle Ben and stayed quiet, drinking her milk and dunking her Oreos. "Are you sure you had no idea she was still sick?". Her mother said, slowly getting a little frustrated that she was not getting anywhere..

She could usually break her second eldest daughter a lot easier then this, so she was either telling the truth or she had brushed up on her lying act cause her and Eric both were terrible liars. "No idea Mom", Lucy said as she took a sip of her coffee, remaining calm and collected. She really hoped that after all this time, Mary and Ben could pull of their surprise of telling the whole family together at such a special time of year. Annie sighed and nodded, knowing she wasn't going to get anything out of Lucy. She almost decided to ask to take Savannah for the day and ask her but then she realized she didn't want to put her grand daughter in a hard position if she did know anything and was told not to say anything, so she thought maybe she would ask the other kids or possibly go over to Mary's later that day.

"Okay, Well I should get going, the boys are at home alone and I don't want to leave them alone for too much longer.. Let me know if you hear anything about Mary", Annie said as she stood up and kissed her daughter and grand daughter goodbye. Lucy nodded as she picked Savannah up and they walked Annie out to the front door, "Yes, Mom.. I will let you know if I hear anything", she said as they waved goodbye, "See ya tomorrow Nana" , Savannah said as she waved and then once Annie was gone, Lucy closed the door and breathed in a deep sigh of relief, resting her back against the door.. "Wow.. That was close", she said slightly to herself and to Savannah. Savannah giggled and nodded, Lucy poking her nose a little playfully. "Thanks for not saying anything to Nana.. We should go check on Aunt Mary and make sure she is okay".

Savannah nodded and giggled, "You're welcome Mommy". Lucy put her down and walked into her bathroom to make sure her hair looked okay and put some makeup on and then smiled, heading back into the living room and grabbing her bag as she called out to Savannah. "'Okay Anna, let's go". Savannah came running out of her room with one of her favorite teddy bears and her little hand bag her Mother had brought her. "Why you bringing Muffy with you?", she asked eyeing the ratty old bunny.. "I thought Aunt Mary might like it to keep her company", she said a little shyly. Lucy smiled and lifted her daughter up into her arms as she grabbed her keys, "I am sure she will love it.. Come on sweetie". She waked out the door and locked it and then put Savannah into the backseat and helped her with her belt.

Once they got to Mary and Ben's house, Lucy got out and helped Savannah out, and took her key ring and found the key to unlock the house and let themselves in. "Mare?", Lucy called as she closed the door behind her. There was no answer so Lucy put her finger on her lips to make sure Savannah was quiet in case Mary was sleeping and took her hand walking upstairs into her bedroom. She smiled softly as she saw Mary laying down in her bed and walked over to her, sitting down on the bed noticing she was stirring. "Hey Mare.. You feeling any better?". She asked her as she helped Savannah up onto the bed. Mary sat up and looked at the clock noticing it was nearing 12pm. She nodded and smiled seeing Savannah, "I think I am feeling a bit better.. Wow.. I slept all morning". She said as she really took in the time.

"That's good, You feeling hungry or thirsty at all?", Lucy asked as she looked at her again. Mary felt her stomach growl a little and Savannah giggled hearing it.. "I think that's a yes", Mary hand as she laughed along with Savannah. "How bout you take a nice relaxing bath and I will make you something for lunch?". Mary raised her eyebrows at her sister, "You don't have to go to any trouble Sis". Lucy smiled, "it's no trouble at all is it baby?", she asked her daughter who shook her head. "By the way.. Mom is fishing around for information, she came round this morning asking if I knew you were sick". Mary groaned as she remembered last nights conversation, "I rang her last night about tomorrow and she could hear that I wasn't well.. I just said I was tired.. I hope she doesn't find out".

"I don't think so will.. Anna and I didn't say anything and only Ben, Kev and us know .. It will be fine.. You go and have your bath and we will get you some lunch ready". Mary nodded and went to stand up but before she could, Savannah handed her the bear and smiled, "this is to keep you company Aunt Mary", she said in a small voice. Mary smiled and cuddled it to her recognizing it as the one she brought her niece when she was born.. " Awe, Thanks sweetie", she said leaning over and kissing her cheek and cuddling her. "You are welcome". She said smiling as she pulled away to let Mary stand up. "Take as long as you need Sis", Lucy said as she took Savannah's hand and waked downstairs. As Mary ran the bath, she thought back to when Savannah was born and how excited she felt to see her niece for the first time.

*flash back*

Mary was back in Buffalo when she got the news her first niece was born. She went straight to her boss and asked if she could take some family time explaining the situation, "My sister just had her baby and I would love if I could have some time off to meet my niece". Her boss smiled and nodded, Mary was a good worker and she was dedicated to her family too, so she knew the feeling of wanting to be with your family especially at times like this. "That sounds fine Mary, you go spend some time with your family.. And congratulations". Mary smiled and hugged her boss, "Thanks, I really appreciate it". Her boss hugged her back and smiled wider, "I know the feeling of wanting to be with family, go be with them", she said softly. Mary nodded and walked away, waving..

She headed to her apartment and packed some clothes in a suitcase and then had a quick shower and got dressed in more causal clothes, jeans and a nice low cut fitting top and straightened her hair, putting some makeup on. She then headed back to Buffalo airport to catch a flight back to Glenoak. As she worked for the airline, she was able to get a plane ride back for free.. Once she got back to Glenoak, she headed straight for the hospital and she was looking in the gift shop at the hospital for a gift and saw the most perfect little teddy.. It was almost like a off white bunny with big floppy ears and a little pink blanket which was sewn into the bunnies hand. She thought it was perfect and brought it and a bunch of flowers as well and then headed to Lucy's hospital room.

Once she got to her room, she knocked softly before entering and smiled as Lucy smiled and tilted her head for her to come in, "Hey there Mare". Mary walked in and put the flowers on the table and gave her sister a hug. "Congratulations Luce.. I'm so proud of you", she said as she sat on the bed next to her and reached for the flowers, "These are for you". Lucy smiled and motioned towards the empty vase next to her, "Thanks.. I appreciate those. Could you put these in there?". Mary nodded as she placed the flowers in the vase and looked around, "So... Where is my niece?", she asked curiously. Lucy giggled and smiled, "Kevin just went to go give her a bath and get cleaned up.. They should be back in a minute". Just as she said those words, Kevin walked in with a little bundle of pink blankets in his arms.

"Hi Mary", he said as she walked over to him and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, pulling back the blankets to get a close look at her niece. "Congratulations", she said excitedly as she looked at them both as Kevin walked over to the bed where Lucy was and Kevin spoke up, " Lucy.. So do you wanna?". Lucy smiled and nodded beckoning Mary to get closer to the bed, "Mare, we would like to introduce you to our daughter Savannah Jennifer Louise Kinkirk", she said smiling wide as Kevin made a move to do a hand over and passed the baby girl to Mary who took her into her arms gently and carefully. She looked at them both and smiled, feeling tears well in her eyes at the sight of her niece looking up at her.. "Wow, she is so beautiful and perfect". She said as she slowly rocked Savannah in her arms.

She sat down on the bed and carefully grabbed the bunny bear she brought and placed it in her arms with her niece and said, "This is for you sweetheart.. I hope you like it". She was so proud of her sister and brother in law and very happy for them but it did make her long for a happy ending of her own. It didn't work out with Wilson West or Robbie Pamler, She knew why now.. Neither of them really held her heart, but Ben Kinkirk.. Now he was the one who really held her heart and knowing this little girl was apart of him too made her ache to hold hers and Ben's on child, but she knew it would never happen. They had broken up and she felt like she had lost him for good this time. She leant her head forward and kissed her niece's forehead, taking her little finger in hers, always vowing to be there and have a special bond with her.

*end flash back*

Mary was finished in the bath and getting dressed, she decided on a loose fitting dress, and while she sat at her vanity and did her hair, she looked over at the bear Savannah had leant her and smiled, knowing that her hopes, dreams and wishes of being a wife to her best friend Ben and a Mommy to their children was finally coming true. They had been through their fair share of ups and downs but they were finally making it through. She made the bed and sat the bear at the top of the bed with the pillows and took one final look at it as she made her way back downstairs, smelling a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich for lunch. "Mm that smells good Luce, thanks", she said as she sat down at the table. "Wow.. You are right on time and your welcome", she said as she put Mary's plate down in front of her and then finished fixing Savannah and her own lunch before sitting down to eat.

*Meanwhile.. Back at the Camden household.. And Alternating with New York*

It was 1pm and after some shopping, Annie was finally back home and making lunch for her two teenaged sons, as she did she thought about Matt, Sarah and the boys and how she couldn't wait to see them tomorrow. She called the boys who were playing basketball outside in for lunch, "boys.. Lunch". Even though David was going through a lot of things, he was so happy that Annie and Eric let him continue to shoot hops as long as the other family members were careful around him. They came in and sat down, saying a quick grace and as they ate, Annke decided to give Matt a call. She picked the phone up and dialed, getting him on the third ring, "Dr Camden speaking, how may I help you?". Matt must have been on call she thought and smiled at his professional greeting, "Well, " she started.. "You can tell your mother what you know about Mary being unwell", she said in a voice that said she wouldn't be messed around with.

Matt, Sarah and their twin sons Nate and Noah were still currently living in New York but both their families were still in Glenoak and they were starting to get a little home sick. Matt and Sarah been organizing to buy a home and also a private practice in Glenoak so they could be with their families more often, especially now that the boys were getting older, they thought they needed to spend more time with their grandparents and Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. They also had their own little surprise to tell the family when they saw them the next day and that was that they had finally signed the papers to a new home and were getting closer to organizing the paperwork for their family practice. Matt, Sarah and the boys had been in and out of Glenoak over the last few weeks and staying with Sarah's parents.

Only Richard and Rosina knew of their plans were glad to keep or a surprise for the Camden family. As Matt had not heard anything about Mary being sick, he was glad he could be honest to his mother. Mary wanted to ask Matt as he was an OB, but she didn't want too many of the family knowing and she didn't feel comfortable asking Matt about certain things, which is why she was glad she had Lucy. "Honestly Mom.. I didn't know Mary was sick at all, We haven't heard from Mary and Ben for a month or so, we keep getting each other's machines when we call to catch up with each other and she never mentioned in her messages she wasn't well". Matt said as he looked over the file of his next patient. "Well, no one seems to know.. Mary said she was just tired, but she sounded sick".

Matt shook his head slightly amused at his mother and asked the obvious question, "Have you asked Lucy or Ruthie?", she went to the fridge and poured herself and the twins some juice and answered, "Yes.. Both say they have no idea what's wrong". Matt heard a knock at his door and put his hand over the phone, "Come in". It was the receptionist letting him know his patient was here, "Look Mom I have to go, I got a patient coming in", he said as he nodded and took his hand away from the phone, "If anything is wrong, I am sure Mary will tell us when she is ready". Annie nodded and handed the boys the drinks as she balanced the phone between her shoulder and ear, sighing, "I know.. Okay.. Well I will let you go and we will see you all tomorrow". She said defeated.. "See you tomorrow Mom", he said as he hung up the phone and stood up and walked to the door to call his next patient in.

* In New York *

Sarah got home from her shift at the clinic and had picked the boys up from their next door neighbor who watched them and unlocked the apartment door, "Okay boys.. We need to start getting packed cause as soon as Daddy is finished work, we are gonna get going.. I have a list of what you need on your beds, so get to it", she said as she softly clapped her hands together. She looked around the apartment and smiled, she was going to miss their home.. It is where their babies were brought home from the hospital and their first real home, both at the same time she was excited for her families new adventure and being home. The house they brought was big and would fit their growing family. Matt and Sarah had just decided to try for another baby, and hoped that pretty soon, possibly before the end of the year, they would have some good news to share with the rest of their family.

Sarah was an only child and she grew up with a lot of love from her parents but she did miss not having siblings and she saw how close Matt and his siblings were and wanted her boys to grow up with some more siblings as well. She headed into her and Matt's bedroom and began packing for the both of them, they were both on vacation and were planning on staying for a week or so and then they both were planning on giving two weeks notice at the clinic so they could move back home. It was ten after four when Matt walked into the apartment and called out to his wife who answered that she was in the bedroom. "Hey there Mrs Camden", he said as he wrapped his arms around her from behind and cuddled her, kissing her neck, "Mm Hello Mr Camden", she said never getting tired of hearing him say her name like that.

"We all packed?", he asked as he kept kissing her neck softly, her hands moving over his and lacing their fingers together, "We are.. I should go check on the boys to make sure they are all finished", she whispered as she turned around and kissed her husbands lips gently. He nodded and chuckled as he pulled away and kissed her again, "'I'm gonna go have a quick shower and change". She nodded and squeezed his butt as he walked past and then she headed into her sons bedroom. "You guys all packed?", she said chuckling as she saw little Noah struggling to close his bag and she walked over and helped him close it. "Got some toys as well?" They both smiled and nodded, "Yup.. We packed this bag with some toys", Nate said pointing to the bag.

Once they had all showered and changed, they decided to head out and grab a quick bite before heading out to the airport, their flight left at 7:15pm that night. It would take them about five and a half hours or so to get to Glenoak, so they were hiring a car and staying at the Glass house that night and having brunch with them and then the four of July BBQ with the Camden's, the Glasses having deciding to spend the four of July going on a wine tasting tour. At the airport, they all went through security and then got onto the plane and sat down, all looking forward to seeing their families and finding out the reaction of the rest of the Camden family when they tell them the good news that they were planning on bringing their family back home to Glenoak permanently.

*Back at the Kinkirk household*

Ben got home from work at about 5:30pm that day and as he put his key into the lock of the door, he yawned softly. He had a big day and was grateful he was off the next day. He knew it would be an early night for both himself and Mary that evening. Lucy had called him once she left and gave him an update on how she was doing and let him knew she was okay. He had gotten them a salad each for dinner knowing neither of them would feel much like cooking.," Hey Mare.. I'm home", he said as he walked through the door. Mary was sitting downstairs on the couch reading a book on pregnancy with a water bottle by her side and smiled, "Hey babe", she said as he came over to her and kissed her softly and sat down. "How you feeling?".

She rubbed her belly as she took a sip of the water and nodded, "I feel a bit better now, been drinking a lot of water and rehydrating", she said pointing to the book Lucy had given her to help her get through her pregnancy. "That's good babe, I got us a salad each for dinner and thought we could have an early night", he said noticing how tired she still looked. She nodded and smiled.. "Sounds good honey". He stood up and went to get everything ready in the kitchen and then brought it out to her. Once they finished dinner, Ben helped Mary upstairs and into bed and then had a cool shower and dressed for bed, putting the ducted air conditioner on before getting in next to her and turning the light out. Mary remembered, "Did you ask your Mother and step father and sister if they wanted to come for lunch?". He nodded and spoke, "Yes, I asked but they can't make it babe.. They are stuck in Buffalo".

She nodded and curled up next to her husband, "We will have to make sure we call them or Skype them tomorrow and tell them too", she said sleepily as she yawned and closed her eyes slowly and rested her head on Ben's shoulder, falling asleep feeling safe and sound in his arms, looking forward to seeing all her family tomorrow and wondering what they say when they tell them all the news, Ben sighing contently and smiled, chuckling as he saw that Mary had a little bunny in her arm and noticed it was the same bunny that Mary gave Savannah when she was born. He quickly took a photo of it and then snuggled in and cuddled her as he let his mind rest and his eyes closed, falling asleep, his mind on how they were gonna tell their family that they were expecting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience.. I am sorry this update took a bit longer but I wanted to make sure it was right, I also wanted to make it longer to give more of an introduction to what is going on with the other members of the family. One member I didn't include was Simon but he will be in the next coming chapters.. I hope you all like way I have done with this chapter and bringing the other members of the Camden family to life a bit more, it's hard to add them all but I tried to incorporate it much the same way the episodes ran, that it went from mid scene to another scene.


	8. Perfect day for a family day

4th July 2012

*Kinkirk Houshold*

It was 7:00am on the Fourth of July and Mary snuggled into the blankets shivering a little as she moved closer to her husband, "Hmm, babe.. I'm cold", she whispered softly, her eyes still closed. Ben who had felt her moving around and shivering chuckled and kissed her forehead, pulling the blankets off him as he sat up, swiveling around till his feet touched the ground. He stood up and padded over to the air conditioner controls and turned it off and then padded back over to the bed and got back in, pulling the blankets back over him as he snuggled into Mary, cuddling her from behind, kissing her neck softly. "Mmm, Good morning baby", he said moving his lips from her neck to her shoulder.

"Good morning honey", she said as she turned around and slowly opened her eyes, smiling as she took in the handsome face in front of her. "How are you feeling today sweetie?". She stayed still for a moment thinking and then smiled softly, "I feel fine actually". He moved closer and rubbed her stomach, kissing her lips, "That's good babe, Want me to get you anything to eat?". She nodded and giggled as she felt her stomach growl with hunger, "I think that's a yes", he said as he stood up again and Mary also got up, smiling, "'You can stay in bed if you like babe" She shook her head as she put on her silk dressing gown, "No.. I was in bed most if yesterday and I feel fine today.. We also have to be at Mom and Dad's by eleven, so we need to get things ready".

She stood up on her tiptoes and pulled him closer to her by his robe and brushed her lips against his, "I love you Ben", she said softly gazing into his eyes. He smiled and kissed her lips back gently, his eyes searching hers, ""I love you Mary, I always have and always will". He chuckled softly as he picked her up in his arms and carried her downstairs and settled her at the table. He started to make some breakfast for them both and set down a cup of hot chocolate for her. "Thanks babe", she said as she took a sip of her drink and grabbed her iPad off charge and began to look at the list of things she needed to do before they left for her parents. Once he finished cooking breakfast, he came down and set her plate down and then sat at the table opposite her while they are in happy silence.

Once Mary finished her food, and drank the rest of her hot chocolate, she stood up and took hers and Ben's dishes over to the sink and rinsed them out before placing them in the dishwasher, "I would have done that Mare", Ben said as he stood up to walk over to her and wrap his arms around her. "I know Ben, but even though I am pregnant, I can still do all these normal things babe.. ", she had reassuring him as she pulled away and kissed his cheek. "I gotta make some a cake, some cupcakes and mars bar slice and then have a shower and get ready", she said as she giggled at his attempts to kiss her neck. "Mm, Okay babe.. I will go down to the market and grab anything else we will need for the day.. We also need to think how we are gonna tell everyone", he said winking as he walked away to head upstairs to get dressed.

Mary looked at her watch and noticed it was now almost 8:00am and she got all the thing she needed to make her desert foods out and began baking, pre heating the oven. She was feeling relaxed and happy today, and while she baked, she thought about how she was going to tell everyone and smiled wide as she thought that perhaps she could write it onto the cake. Ben came downstairs once he was dressed and poked his head into the kitchen, "Anything you need babe?". She smiled and stopped to grab her list from her bag, "Just what is on this list.. I also think I know how to tell everyone", she said as she handed him the note. "How Mare?", he asked looking curious. Mary smiled again as she told Ben her idea.. "I was thinking of writing it in icing on the cake". He nodded in approval, ""That sounds perfect actually babe".

"I'll see you soon babe", he said giving her a quick kiss as he grabbed his wallet and keys and headed out to the car, Mary waving, "Drive safe hon", she called out hearing the door close. Once he was out in the car, Mary turned her attention to her baking, stirring everything in, then putting the cake mix into the baking tray, and then placing it into the oven, sighing contently as she moved around the kitchen, opening the fridge and getting some more ingredients out to make the cupcakes and mars bar slice. As she was making the cupcakes, she smiled as she thought back to the first time that she taught Ben how to make some cupcakes for Savannah's school bake sale.

-Flash Back-

Sunday 7th November 2010

"Do I really have to do this babe?", Ben asked pouting playfully. Baking wasn't exactly his forte and being the macho tough firefighter that he was, he didn't know if baking was something he wanted to learn how to do. He didn't see it as a necessary skill to have for himself. Mary gave him her puppy dog eyes and pouted back at him, "But ppleaaasee baby.. ", she said looking at him, "Besides it's for your niece's school, do I have to get her on the phone to plead as well". She teased, giggling at him. He smiled and leant in to kiss her nose. "Hmmm.. Ohhh okay baby", he said sighing a little, knowing that he would do anything for both Mary and for his little niece Savannah. "Let's do this then baby".

She giggled again and smiled as she led him from the living room towards the kitchen and then led go of his hand as she looked around the kitchen and got the ingredients out of the fridge and cupboard, putting them on the counter and then got the mixer and the mixing bowl out. "Okay baby, come close so I can show you what we need to do babe". She waited till he walked closer and then she continued, "First we preheat the oven to 350 degrees". She walked over to the oven and preheated it, "Then we line the cupcake tray with the cupcake liners". She handed him the liners and got him to line them. "Now.. we gotta break the eggs", she said as she broke an egg on the side of the bowl and dropped the egg in and then handed one to Ben. "What you want me to do that babe?", he asked looking at her.

She nodded and smiled and he copied her actions and broke the egg into the bowl like a pro. She added the third egg and then she then read the directions, "Okay, we need to add the butter, vanilla extract, sugar, and buttermilk", she said as she measured each ingredient out and let Ben put the butter and vanilla extract in and she added the sugar and buttermilk. "Wonderful honey", She said kissing his cheek, feeling proud of him. "We then mix everything together", she said smiling as she put her hand mixer on and mixed them together well. "Is that all babe?", he asked as he rested his back onto the counter. She laughed softly and shook her head, "No, not yet.. We need something to hold the mix together", she said as she measured the dry ingredients out which consisted of flour, salt, cocoa powder, and baking powder.

As Mary got another bowl to put her next ingredients in, Ben smiled as he put his finger in the baking powder and then ran his fingers down each side of her cheeks, Mary giggling as she tried to wipe it off while Ben put some more on her forehead, "Bennn", she said trying to act serious while she was giggling. "Not fair babe".  
He chuckled and smiled as he ran his finger along her nose, "You know you love me though". She leant in and kissed him giggling more, "Yes I do, now let's concentrate". She continued to add and mix all the ingredients together and then then poured the mix into the cupcake trays, and then taking it over and putting them into the oven for thirty minutes. "I'll clean up baby", he said as he kissed her lips and headed over to the sink. "I actually didn't mind that at all, it was kinda fun", he said as he washed the dishes. "I'm glad you think so babe".

Once they were cooked, Mary got out them out of the oven and sat them down to cool. It took about fifteen minutes for them to cool down and while she was waiting, she sat down at the table kitchen table where her laptop was and read through her news feed on Facebook smiling wide and shaking her head as she noticed a photo Ben put up of them baking the cupcakes. "When did you take this photo babe?", she asked curiously as he walked back into the kitchen, "I had it set up on my tripod to take photos of us". She shook her head in amusement and stood up, "Wanna decorate them, they should be cool now". He nodded and stood her up, pulling her over to the bench to start working on decorating the cupcakes.

Mary was falling even more for Ben knowing that even though he didn't want to do girly things like baking, he would do it simply for her and for their niece and it showed her that he was dedicated to her and to his family. As they decorated the cupcakes, he stood behind her and watched as she decorated each one lovingly, his lips kissing her neck and his hands closing on hers as he began to help her. "Thanks baby, for helping me.. I know it's not usually your thing", she said as she tiled her neck as little and let out a soft little moan, "Mm you are welcome sweetheart.. I would do anything for you", he said smiling as she finished decorating and put them into a container and turned around, she realized at that moment that she never wanted them to lose each other, "I love you", she whispered as she stood up on tiptoes to kiss him.

-End Flash-

4th July 2012

It was now just after 9:30am and Mary was decorating the cake and the cupcakes when Ben walked back into the kitchen. He smiled looking at her and then the cakes, "Mmm they look awesome a are". She smiled wide and turned to face him, "Thanks baby.. Almost done now and then I will go have a shower". Ben nodded and swiped his finger in the bowl and licked the frosting off his finger, "Mm do you remember that time when you taught me how to make cupcakes?". She laughed and nodded as she finished the last one and pushed the bowl over to him, "Yes, I do sweetie, it was wonderful". She showed him the cake, "Do you think that sounds good?", he looked at it and nodded, "Wow, that looks really good, I like what it says".

"Good, I hope everyone is excited". He smiled as he swiped his finger over the frosting and licked it off his finger. "I am sure they will be excited about it". She nodded, putting the cupcakes in the container and the walked past him, "I'm gonna go have a quick shower and get dressed". Ben nodded, "I'll get everything into the picnic basket". Mary headed out of the kitchen and walked up the stairs and into their bedroom. She smiled seeing Ben had made the bed and walked into the bathroom and then quickly undressed and got into the shower, washing herself and her hair and feeling really relaxed as she turned the taps off and got out, drying herself off. She wrapped a towel around her and one around her hair and then walked into her walk in wardrobe and found a flowing white dress with pink roses in it. Once she dressed, she took the towel off her head and dried it, straightening it and doing her makeup.

By the time she was ready, it was 10:30am and she was putting the final touches to her makeup. She never used to like wearing much makeup but as she grew older, she could appreciated it more. She still didn't wear a lot of makeup, just enough to bring out her natural beauty. She sat on the bed as she put her shoes on and stood up, grabbed her bag and took her iPhone off charge and walked out if the room and downstairs. Ben was all ready in jean shorts and a shirt, and he had managed to put everything they needed in the picnic basket and leant down to pick it and the cooler up to take out to the car. "Wow.. Mare.. You look amazing". She blushed a little and smiled, "Thank you sweetie, you look wonderful too". He walked out to the car and out everything in, "You ready to go Mary?".

"I'm ready", she said as she grabbed a jacket just in case and the keys, locking the door as she walked out, her heart melting as Ben opened the car door for her. "Awe, thanks honey". She pulled her seatbelt on as Ben did his up and started the car. "Wait.. Did you put the cakes in?", she asked as he began to back up. He nodded and chuckled as he continued to back out, "Of course I did Mare". She breathed a sigh if relief as he put the car into gear and drive off, her stomach getting nervous little butterflies wondering what they would all say when they finally found she was pregnant.

-Meanwhile at the Glasses-

Sarah, Matt and the twins had just finished a lovely brunch with Richard and Rosina, and the boys were running around with their grandfather squealing with joy as Matt and Sarah helped Rosina clean up. "Thanks for staying here for brunch Sarah, Matt.. I know today is a big day at your parents Matt, so we appreciate it". Matt nodded and smiled at his mother in law as he put a plate away. "It's our pleasure Rosina, we love spending time with you and Richard". He chucked as he heard his father in law playing with his kids, "And the kids love spending time with their grandparents". Rosina smiled and wiped the counter over, "As do we.. So does your parents know your plans yet?". Matt shook his head as he put some more plates away, "No, not yet.. We are planning on telling them today actually".

"Well I am sure Annie and Eric will be thrilled that you guys are coming home, we have all missed you". Sarah smiled as she washed the last of the mugs and put one arm around her mother, "We have missed all of you too". She said as her mother hugged her back. Matt put the mugs away and then looked at his watch, "Hey honey, it is twenty to eleven so we will need to get going soon". He said chuckling as his sons almost crash tackled into him giggling. Matt picked them both up set them on his hips and smiled, Sarah leaning in and kissing their foreheads, "You guys all ready to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house", she said her face lighting up with a grin as they squealed in delight and nodded, moving around letting their father know they wanted down. Once he set them down, they ran into the other room and grabbed their bags packing their toys quickly.

"We're ready", they both said in unison, grinning from ear to ear. They hadn't seen their grandparents and Aunts, Uncles and cousins in a while and were very excited to spend some time with them. The adults all laughed softly at their excitement and Sarah ruffled their hair smiling, "Okay, We better get going.. We are here for a few more days and then got to get back to work for our last two weeks there before coming home for good", she said speaking to her mother and father who nodded at her. "Okay sweetie, come see us before you go though, Rosina said as she knelt down to hug the twins and then picked them up so they could kiss Richard goodbye. "Of course we will Mom", Sarah said as she took Nate and Matt took Noah.

"Have you put all our bags in the car Matt?", she asked, turning to look at him, who nodded at her, "Yeah, as soon as we all got dressed I took them out to the car". She began walking to the front door, Her parents and Matt following her as they walked outside, "Okay.. We will talk later, have fun at the winery", Sarah said as she kissed her mother and father goodbye, and then helping the boys into their seats. Sarah and Matt got in the front and waved goodbye, Matt reversing and driving off. It was a short drive to Annie and Eric's and the boys grinned and squealed as Matt pulled up on the side of the road and announcing, "We are here guys" . As soon as he stopped the car, the boys were unbuckling their belts and tumbling out of the doors, yelling happily, "Grandma, Grandpa"!

-At the Camden's-

Annie and Eric heard their grandsons calling their names and walked out the front to see them both running across the grass and held their arms out laughing happily as the twins ran straight into their open arms. They picked a twin up each, Eric had Nate and Annie picked up Noah and they gave their grandsons a kiss and a big hug, smiling brightly. "Hey there guys", Annie said as she walked over to the car, "Hi Matt, Sarah.. We missed you all", she said as she opened her free arm and let her son and daughter in law give her a hug, Eric doing the same. The boys both smiled, and giggled, "We missed you too Grandma". Eric put Nate down and looked at his son, "You need any help?". Matt nodded grateful for the help, "That would be good, thanks Dad", he said as he handed him a couple of bags. Annie put Noah down and helped Sarah with the kids bags and together they walked inside.

"So.. ", Annie began once they were all in the foyer, "We put Matt's old bed upstairs in the attic for you two and then we put the two single beds into your old room Matt for Noah and Nate". Sarah smiled and looked at Annie, "Awe thanks Annie, you didn't have to go to so much trouble though". Annie reached around and rested her arm around her daughter in laws shoulder, "It's no trouble at all Sarah", she said giving her cheek a kiss. Matt smiled and spoke to the kids, "Okay kids, lets to and put your things away in your room and then we can go out to the backyard". The boys grabbed their bags and rushed upstairs, Sarah calling after them, "Be careful guys". She smiled and shook her head in amusement as she grabbed the other bags and tapped Matt's shoulder, "Lets take these up and make sure the boys are staying out of trouble". She said starting towards the staircase, Matt nodding as he followed after her.

Just as Matt and Sarah walked upstairs, the door opened and Simon and Cecilia walked in, "Simon", Annie exclaimed as she walked over and hugged her son, and then turned to other daughter in law, "Cecilia", she smiled as she hugged her as will and then let her, a big grin on her face. "It's good to see you both", she said as she took their hands and led them to the living room. "It's good to see you too Mom". Annie was so happy that Simon and Cecilia had reconnected with each other, although she got to like Rose, she never really loved her as much as she loved Cecilia. Cecilia was always more willing and happy to partake in family activities then Rose.. "So, how is everything going?", she asked looking at them as they sat on the couch. She knew that they were having problems conceiving and how hard it was on them.

"Well, we are planning on going to see about IVF, we just can't seem to conceive at all, but we both really want to have a baby", Cecilia answered as Simon took his wife's hand in his and squeezed softly supporting her the best he could. "Well, if you need anything at all, Your father and I are here for you both", she said smiling softly at them. She was so glad to see Simon in a loving marriage. She was worried he would be the one never to marry and find someone, but he found his way back to Cecilia and they were a beautiful couple together. "So who else is here Mom?", Simon asked looking around, "Uhh, Your Dad, Sam and David of course, Ruthie is getting ready in the garage apartment and other then that, just Matt, Sarah and the kids, but the others should be here soon". She said at the same moment that the younger twins came downstairs hearing Simons voice.

"Uncle Simon", they yelled as they catapulted themselves into his arms, "Hey guys", he said smiling as both he and Cecilia hugged them and then set them down as their parents walked back into the room, Simons standing up as he held his hand out to Matt, "Hey bro", he said as Matt smiled pulling him into a hug and patted his back, "Hey there yourself little brother". Matt and Simon had always been close, but they did become a little distant when Matt went away to New York and Matt was hoping they would become closer again once he moved back. "Annie, do you need any help with anything?". Sarah asked, looking at her mother in law and then seeing Cecilia sitting there, "Hi Cecilia". Cecilia smiled and nodded, "Hi there and yeah is there anything we can do at all?". Annie chuckled and grinned, "Well, you girls can help with with the salads if you like". They all stood up and heading towards the kitchen, the boys going outside.

While the women were all in the kitchen, Ruthie who had finally finished getting ready headed downstairs and out into the backyard. She spotted the twins first and ran up to them, putting her hands over their eyes, "Guess who guys". They squealed happily as they yelled out, "Ruthie". She smiled and giggled as they turned around and wrapped their arms around her legs, her arms wrapping around them both as she hugged them, "We missed you Aunt Ruthie", Noah said as he pulled away. "I missed you all too", she said as she waved to Matt and Simon who were sitting at the outdoor table, "Hey you two". She called out as she walked over to them. "Hey to you as well Ruthie, How is Martin?" Matt asked her softly, she nodded and spoke a little wistfully, "He is good, I spoke to him again last night and he sounded good".

He nodded and smiled, taking her hand and squeezing it gently, "He will be okay Sis", he pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight, rubbing her back, "I just miss him and worry about him every day". Matt kept hugging her and Simon patted her back gently, speaking up. "We know Ruthie and you are so brave.. He will be home soon", he said reassuringly. As the brothers comforted their youngest sister, Annie, Sarah and Cecilia watched them from the window, "I hope she is okay today, she misses Martin", Annie said as they continued to make the salads, Sarah nodding, "Well hopefully with all her family around, she will be fine". She squeezed Annie's arm gently and smiled as they continued to watch them and finish up with the salads, Meanwhile, Sam and David were out the back playing basketball with their father.

Ben and Mary pulled up in the drive way behind Eric's car and Mary sighed a little, breathing in deep feeling nervous. "They are all gonna be ecstatic and excited baby", he said as he took her hand and kissed it softly. "I know honey", she smiled and took her seatbelt off and got out of the car. "I need to hide the cake with our surprise on it, so no one sees it", she said as she took the container the cake was in. She decided to leave it in the den, and put her jacket over it and would get it later when the deserts were being eaten. As she was doing that, she Lucy, Kevin and Savannah walking in with Ben and smiled, "Hey there"' she said as she held her arms open for Savannah giving her a hug.. Savannah whispered, "We gonna tell everyone today?". Mary smiled and giggled as she gave her teddy Muffy back to her, "We sure are..", she showed Lucy and Savannah the cake and both agreed it was a good idea.

They all walked out into the backyard where the rest of the family were and Annie and Eric beamed with happiness at their family being there with them for the holiday. "So, I'd like to thank you all to coming, your mother and I appreciate it.. Now let's have some fun..", he said smiling wide as Savannah ran into his arms, "Us men are going start organizing the meat and cooking it, so if you ladies excuse us, it won't be too long". He said as he kissed Savannah's cheek and set her down watching her giggling as she ran up to Noah, Nate, Sam and David to play. Eric And Matt got the meat organized inside and then brought it out, Simon, Ben and Kevin joining them while the women all sat down to watch the younger kids play, talking ideally amongst themselves, Sarah, Matt, Mary and Ben all wondering how their families would take their news and wondering just when to bring it up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all like this chapter, trying to make sure we start to see the other members of the Camden family and not just Ben and Mary.


	9. 4th July Celebrations

4th July 2012 Continued

-Camden Residence-

After lunch, the family was all sitting around the backyard enjoying each other's company when they decided to bring the deserts out. Annie, Sarah, Mary, Lucy, Cecilia and Ruthie all headed into the kitchen to get everything ready. Mary decided to leave her cake till last so that she could bring it out so everyone could see it at the same time, meanwhile Eric decided to clean the grill of the bqq while he waited for the women to be finished in the kitchen. The rest of the men were just sitting around having a beer and talking amongst themselves.

The girls fixed everything on plates and began talking them outside, Lucy hanging back with Mary seeing she was looking a little nervous, "You okay Mare?", she asked as she put down her own plate and stopped to look her older sister concerned. "Yeah, I am fine Luce, just a little nervous to hear what they all think of our news". She answered her voice soft so the others couldn't hear her. Lucy smiled and squeezed Mary's arm gently, "They are all going to be very happy Sis, so please don't worry". Mary nodded and smiled, "You are right.. I am going to get the cake, I'll be right out". She said as she walked away to go and grab the cake and walked back outside, gesturing to Ben as she walked past him.

Ben stood up and walked over to her as she lifted the lid of the container and placed it on the table. Annie who was standing near her arranging the other deserts got a glimpse of the cake and saw the message that was written on the cake. In red, blue and white icing was the words 'Two Little Rays of Sunshine are coming into the world'. Annie's face lit up and her eyes filled with tears, "ohh my baby", She said happily opening her arms, stepping forward and enveloping Mary and Ben in her arms, hugging them both tight. The rest of the family looked up at the display wondering what was happening and headed over to the table to see what all the fuss was about. Annie looked at them all beaming, "Look at the cake", She said as she moved away, smiling wide.

Annie had been waiting for what felt like forever to hear her eldest daughter was having a baby and she was so glad it was with Ben. She really loved Ben and was ecstatic to have him as one of her son in laws. She was so excited at the thought of having more grandchildren in her life. All the other kids and Eric looked at the cake and they all buzzed with excitement, congratulating the happy couple and hugging them tight, Eric ducking away to celebrate with his wife. He reached over to her and pulled her a hug, "Wow.. So that is the reason Mary wasn't feeling well", Eric said to his wife as he kissed her softly. "Well.. It wasn't what I thought it was but this is so much better", She said as she giggled with glee.

"Congratulations Sis", Ruthie said as she hugged Mary and then peeked down at her stomach, "How far are you anyway?". Mary smiled as Ben squeezed her hand and pulled away to speak to Matt. "I'm just over 12 weeks", she said as Sarah and Cecilia came over to give their best wishes to her, hugging her quickly. "I'm surprised you didn't come to Matt or I to ask some questions", Sarah said as she pulled away. Mary chuckled and bit her lip, "I was going to but then time just got away from me and then I thought it would be a nice surprise for you all to find out at once", Mary said wrapping her arms around Savannah as she came running over to her.

Mary picked Savannah up and smiled as she nuzzled into her, "Hey Sis, Congrats", Simon said softly as he put his hand on her shoulder. Even though he yearned for a child himself, he was geniuially happy for his big sister. "Thanks Simon", She said smiling softly, her eyes twinkling. Matt was still talking with Ben and he crossed his arms smiling as he spoke, "So.. anyway.. You're having twins man… Wow".. He said smirking a little knowing what a handful twins could be. "I hope you are ready". Ben nodded and smiled, resting his hands on his hips as he watched his wife hold his niece.

"Ha-Ha, I think we will be as ready as we can be", He said chuckling softly. Matt looked back at him seriously and answered, "Well, if either of you have any questions about anything.. Sarah and I are here". Ben nodded and smiled, lifting his beer to his lips for a small drink, "Thanks man, I appreciate that". He said sincerely. Once they all settled down from that news, they began digging into the deserts, Lucy coming over to Mary and smiling, "So.. I told you… everyone would be happy", She said as she grabbed some deserts for her and Savannah and put them on a plate. "I know Sis.. and thanks for everything", Mary answered back as she leant in and hugged her sister again.

Once they were all seated and cowing down on their food, Sarah and Matt looked at each other knowingly and with just a conversation with their eyes, made a decision to tell the family their news. Matt finished his desert and stood up, clapping his hands to get his families attention, while Sarah stood up next to him, taking his hand in his for support. "Hey everyone..", he waited while everyone stopped talking, "Sarah and I would also like to make an announcement.. It is not as big an announcement as Mary and Ben's". They all laughed at that and Matt continued. "Sarah and I have brought a house". "A house", Eric repeated feeling faint. He knew that they were still paying off their student loans and wondered how they could afford to buy a house.

"A house.. how can you afford that in New York?", Eric couldn't help but say a little forcefully, wanting to make his point known. Matt smirked as he answered his father, "We aren't buying in New York". They all shocked at him, with big wide eyes and Annie asked almost fearfully, "Where are you moving to then?". Sarah pushed the boys forward gently and whispered, "Tell Grandma and Grandpa where we are moving to". The boys smiled shyly and whispered, "Glenoak". Only Annie and Eric heard what they and they both smiled brightly, scooping the boys up in their arms kissing them all over. "Where?", Lucy and Ruthie cried out, wanting to know as well.

Annie looked up, fresh happy tears in her eyes as she repeated, "They are moving back to Glenokak". She stood up and hugged her son and daughter in law, "Thanks Matt, Sarah", She said smilling wide.. Annie couldn't believe the wonderful news she had recieved today. First finding out she was going to be a grandmother again and then findng out her eldest son and his family was moving back home to Glenoak. Everyone began smiling and talking at once, Annie and Eric concentrating on what the details. "So when is thee big move?", Eric asked his eyes curiously gazing at his son. "We have to give two weeks notice and then we begin to pack.. We will have to show you all the house before we leave to go back". Matt answered smiling as he wrapped his arm around his wife's waist.

"Where you going to work?", Eric asked, still pressing his son for answers, while the girls all crowed around Sarah asking her questions and genuinally being excited about the big move, "Well.. We are in the process of buying a place for a private clinic actually.. till that is up and running, we will both work at the Glenoak Community Hospital". Annie nodded and smiled, "That sounds very like a very exciting but nervous time". Matt looked at his mother and answered, "Yeah, It is.. We just can't wait to be finally home where we all belong, the kids have been asking for months and months if we could move back".

"Well it is about time" Simon said as he playfully slapped Matt's shoulder, smiling. Simon was really estatic that Matt was coming home to live, he had really missed the company of his brother, and he always looked up to him as a role model as well. He knew that he could also use some advise as well on his and Cecilia's situation too and he wanted to be able to sit down with his wife, brother and sister in law to talk some things through about what all their options were before they headed off to another doctor that they didn't know or wern't comfortable with. "Maybe when you guys are all settled in, Cecilia and I could sit down and talk to you both". Matt smiled warmly and patted his brother's shoulder, "Of couse we can, just let us know, we might have some time before we go back".

They continued to all talk and catch up until day turned into early evening was and as they were all talking, they heard the first lot of fireworks going off and all stopped what they were doing to watch the fireworks. They all sat down on chairs or the gound to watch, Mary sitting on nex to Mary with Ben's hands on her stomach protectively, nuzzling his nose into her neck, Mary remembering watching their first fireworks display together at a School Christmas carnaval they went to for Savannah's school and how safe and warm she felt in Ben's arms that night.

-Flash Back-

12th December 2011

It was the night of Savannah's Christmas Carnaval and the youngest Kinkirk had asked her Aunt and Uncle to take her. They both couldn't say no to her and so here they finally were pulling up at the school for the night. Lucy and Kevin thought it would be a good idea for Ben and Mary to take her and see what it is like to take care of her and hopefully give them a view of what it was like to be parents. Ben shut off the engine and took the key out of the ignition as Mary unbuckled her seatbelt and grabbed her bag from the floor before she opened the door and got out. She closed her door and then opened the back door and helped Savannah out, smiling at how Savannah was jumping around excitedly.

Savannah loved Christmas and loved being with her family, so for her to be able to share this with her Aunt and Uncle was like a dream come true for her. "Come on Aunt Mary", Savannah said impatiently as she grabbed Mary's hand and tried to pull her along. "We gotta wait for Uncle Ben", Mary said with a soft laugh as she looked over at Ben who was getting the picnic rug out of the trunk of the car. He closed it and locked the car once he was ready and chuckled as Savannah reached out her hand, Ben taking it in his as he walked over to them. "Okay little Miss, you ready", he asked her smiling. She nodded and yelled out in glee, as they all walked into th school yard.

Mary and Ben kept a close eye on Savannah as she played with the other kids and looked at all the stores, her eyes pleading when she saw a little doll she wanted, "Please.. Can I have that Aunt Mary and Uncle Ben?", She asked her voice all sweet and soft. Ben looked at the price and nodded as he took his wallet out of his back pocket, "Okay, You can have it Princess". He paid for it and then the woman behind the table handed it over to Ben who then handed it to Savannah. She smiled and hugged Ben and Mary, looking up at them with love, "Thank you". Ben ruffled her hair and smiled, "You are welcome sweetheart".

They kept walking and then headed to a spot of grass where Ben set down the blanket and Mary and Savannah sat down on it, Ben asking, "Do you want anything to drink or eat?". Mary nodded and smiled, "Yeah, Why don't we get some chocolate milk and maybe some popcorn, how does that sound honey?". Savannah nodded and grinned, "Sounds good, thank you". While Ben went to get them, Savannah settled herself in Mary's lap. "I'm so glad you and Uncle Ben brought me here", She said as she nuzzled into Mary's chest. Savannah was very close to her Aunt and Uncle and was glad to spend more time with them. Mary grinned back and kissed her forehead, "I'm so glad to sweetie".

Ben came back and sat down just as the fireworks began and he smiled as he saw Savannah nestled into Mary like that. He couldn't wait till he and Mary had a family of their own, he thought as he sat next to them both, handing over the milk and popcorn to them and looking up at the sky. Mary rested her head on his shoulder and smiled at him, both exchanging a glance at each other as Savannah became engrossed in the fireworks display, then they both looked up as the laced their hands together and continued to watch the display, feeling happy and loved.

-End Flash Back-

Mary smiled at her husband seeing that Savannah had settled herself in his lap and was dozing off a little, both glancing at each other as they remembered back to when they took Savannah to the carnaval and both smiled, knowing pretty soon this was going to be their own babies cuddled into their arms on special days like this, however both were also concerned about Savannah and making sure they still included her as well so she didn't feel left out. "I love you Mare", Ben whispered. She smiled and leaned over to kiss him softly, "I love you too Ben".

They continued watching the fireworks until they were all over and Mary felt herself trying to stifle back a yawn. She looked at her watch, and her eyes widened, "Wow those went for a while", She said as she stood up and carefully gathered Savannah into her arms from Ben and headed inside to put her down, Lucy smiling as she saw her sleeping daughter in her sister's arms. "They did go for longer then usual, I am surprised Savannah fell alseep through them". Mary nodded and she walked inside, Lucy holding the door open for her as the rest of them began to clean up and Matt and Sarah brought their own sleeping boys inside as well and put them all down onto the couches.

"Aren't they all so adorable", Sarah whispered as Matt put his arms around her, Lucy and Mary nodding, "They certainly are.. I can't wait to experience this with my own", Mary said as she rubbed her stomach absently. "Well, it won't be too long", Lucy said as she placed a blanket over the kids before they headed back out to clean up with the rest of the family. Annie had begun bringing the food inside and the girls all helped out with the cleaning while Matt headed outside to tidy up the backyard with the rest of the men. "Today was so perfect.. Thank you all for being here and sharing all your wonderful news". Mary hugged her Mom and smiled, "I heard a rumour you were going crazy trying to find out what was wrong with me".

They all chuckled and Lucy and Ruthie both nodded, "Oh yes she was going a little crazy..", Ruthie explained the interogation sessions she went through before Lucy explained what her mother had said when she came over to her house. The girls got a laugh out of that and once everything was cleaned up, They all agreed it was time to call it a were planning on having dinner as well but as they had a late lunch, they all decided to just skip dinner and have something quick and easy if they were hungry later. It was after 9pm once Mary and Ben got home and Ben realized they had not yet told his Mom, step father and Sister.

"Hey Mare.. We need to call Mom and tell her", Mary smiled and nodded, "Let's do that now babe.. Wanna skype her or just call her?". She asked seeing Ben had his cell out. "I'm gonna text her and see if she can come on skype so we can see her reaction". He quickly texted his mother and then put the phone back in his pocket so he woud know when she replied. He made them both a cup of tea while Mary set up the lapop in the living area and he brought it into the living room, setting it down on the coffee table. "Mom messenged me back and she should be able to come on in half an hour", He said as he sat down next to her. "Okay, Well, why don't we reseach some baby names while we wait" She asked, as she began goggling some websites, "Sure, sounds good.. We need two boys names and two girls names in case we have two of the same". He said as she opened up a page and took a sip of her tea. She was feeling nervous about telling Ben's Mom but she knew she would be fine with it as well. It would be her second and third grandchild and she was always asking when they were going to make her a grandmother again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all like this chapter.. and the news that there is more then one baby. It is really hard when there is so many characters in one scene to get them all in. I might not have gotten all of them in, but I did the best I could.. I will leave the next chapter to reveal what Ben's mothers reaction is to the pregnancy. If you wanna give me some ideas of baby names, you are more then welcome to. I don't know yet if it's gonna be a boy and a girl or two of the same gender, but that will be revealed either at birth or if they decide to reveal the genders to their family. Once I reveal the news to Ben's mother, I am gonna speed things up a little.. Not a long just a little.. by a couple of months maybe.


	10. The Buffalo Kinkirks find out the news

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own any characters except for Frank Bennett and Samantha Collins, I do own Ben's mothers first name as I don't believe it was ever mentioned in the show.. Also I will put a warning here at the start of the chapter. This is talk of a minor character coming out as a lesbian and having a relationship with another woman. It is none of the Camden's but that is all I will reveal. I hope I don't offend anyone with this storyline, I don't know how much it will play into the whole story itself but It will be there.. Anyway I just wanted to warn people if you don't like same sex couples.

Mary and Ben Kinkirk's Residence-  
9:30pm 4th July 2012

It was time for Mary and Ben to finally tell his mother and step father that they were expecting twins. They were both feeling a little nervous at what Margaret, Frank and Patty-Mary would think. It would be their second and third grandchildren and they were all wondering when they would have their first child. Mary took a sip of her hot chocolate and smiled as she saw on her screen that her skype was ringing and it was Maggie on the line. "Hey there honey, Happy 4th July", She said as she blew Mary a kiss, and then moved her eyes to next to Mary. "So Where is Ben?", She asked curiously. Mary laughed and smiled, "Happy 4th July to you too, Ben just had to rush to the bathroom, but wait.. Ohh he is back now", She answered back as Ben took his place beside his wife. "Hi Mom.. Happy 4th July" He said as he waved at her. Frank smiled and waved as he came into frame, "Hey Guys".

Mary smiled and waved back, "Hey Frank, Did you both have a wonderful 4th July?", She said as she leant over and took a sip of her hot chocolate. Maggie nodded, "Yeah, We did have a wonderful day, it was really lovely, just Frank and I.. Patty-Mary was spending time with her new girlfriend..". It had come as a shock to all of them that Patty-Mary had come out as a lesbian only in the last 12 months, The Kinkirks were Catholic and The Camden girls turned Kinkirks were Christian but after the initial shock and learning to accept it, they all had been really supportive for Patty-Mary and were just happy that finally she had found love. Even Eric Camden was wonderful enough to give his support and love to the entire family as they were all dealing with her coming out. "Sounds great, We had a wonderful day as well.. I really hope we get to meet Patty-Mary's new love soon", Ben said with a grin on his face. Out of all the Kinkirks, Ben was closet to Patty-Mary and had accepted it more easily the the others.

"I am sure you will.. We missed you guys though and Kev, Luc and Savy", Frank said softly with a little emotion in his voice. Even though he wasn't Ben, Kevin and Patty-Mary's biological father, he was very invested in his step-children's lives and loved spending time with his 'children and granddaughter'. To the Kinkirks, they weren't step children, they were his children. It had taken the kids a while to get used to the idea of another man being in their mother and their lives, but Frank was a really great guy and always made sure to include the kids and especially Savannah into his life and Savannah just loved them so much. Mary was starting to feel excited about her news and she could feel Ben beside her was as well. "We missed you too Frank", Mary said, wishing she could reach out and give them a hug. "We will all have to catch up soon.. maybe we could head to Buffalo sometime soon, maybe see if Luc, Kev and Savannah can come too so we can all spend time together". Maggie nodded and smiled, "That would be wonderful, We would love that and I know Patty-Mary misses you all too, especially Savannah", she said with a cheeky grin.

It was a well known fact that Savannah had bonded really well with her Aunt on her Dad's side of the family, they like hanging out and playing together and Savannah always has a good time with her Aunt. "So anyway guys.. what's up.. cause I know you didn't want to talk cause it's the 4th July". Maggie was very much like Mary's mother and could always tell when something more was going on. Mary and Ben chuckled softly and smiled, "Wow, is it that obvious Mom", Ben said shaking his head a little. Maggie and Frank both nodded, "Yup, it certainly is.. so what is up kids?", She asked a little softer, hoping whatever it was.. it was good news. Ben leant over to grab his drink and took a sip whilst Mary took in a deep breath looking at Ben and getting the go ahead.

"Well, As you know.. much to all our families disgust", She said lightly laughing, "We were going to wait till we were married for maybe a year or so to get settled into married life before starting a family.. " She paused and smiled wider, taking Ben's hand and he squeezed gently, "Well, Our plans have changed Mom", Ben said softly as he looked into the camera and smiled, "Mary is 12 weeks pregnant with twins". He said grinning from ear to ear as his hand went to her stomach and rubbed it gently. They both watched the screen to see what their reaction and was happy to see their faces light up with joy and happiness at the news. Maggie put her hand to her mouth and gasped, "Really.. Ohh this is amazing news.. I wish I was there to hug you both right now", She said as the happy tears began to roll down her face. Frank grinned happily and wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulder. "This is wonderful kids.. two new little ones.. ". Maggie composed herself and wiped her eyes, "I can't wait..

Are you going to find out the genders?" She asked curiously. Mary shrugged her shoulders and smiled, "We aren't sure yet.. It might be handy so we know what kinds of things we need to buy.. but if we do.. I'm not sure if we will tell anyone". Maggie nodded in understanding, "Well I just can't wait to hold those little babies.. I'm just so happy for you both", She said again and leant into Frank happily. "I wish Patty-Mary was here so we could tell her, but you guys are more then welcome to let her know", Ben answered. "Of couse.. we would be honored to tell her", Frank said before adding as he noted the time, "Well it is getting late.. I know Mary will need her sleep and so will you Ben and I am afraid the celebrating has made Mags and I tried as well.. We will have to talk soon to arrange the details of our Buffalo get together". Mary nodded, "We will.. I'll talk to Lucy and Kevin about it.. Love you guys bunches and bunches", She said as she blew them kisses. They all said goodnight and ended the call.

Mary and Ben shared a smile between them and Ben pulled her into her arms and kissed her lips, "That well well didn't it baby". Mary nodded and snuggled into him, "It sure did... I feel like it is more real now that we have told everyone". Mary took a sip of her hot chocolate and finished it up as Ben spoke, "I know.. it does feel more real", He answered as he stood up with her in his arms and let her stand back up. "I think we should head to bed babe.. it has been a long busy day for us". Mary nodded and smiled as she took both her and Ben's mugs into the kitchen and then got some water from the fridge and filled a glass up, "Do you want some water to take to bed honey?", She said calling out to him. "Sure babe", he answered back as he closed down the laptop and took it back to the study. Once he was done, he took the glasses for Mary and they headed upstairs to bed, Mary turning the lights off as they went.

Once they got to their bedroom, Ben put their glasses of water on the bedside tables and then headed quickly into the bathroom to get ready for bed, Mary walking in behind him as well do wash the makeup off her face and brush her teeth. Ben kissed her softly before leaving the bathroom and then got into bed waiting for his wife with a wide smile on his face. When Mary came out of the bathroom, turning the light off, she noticed Ben's grin and stopped, "What babe?", She asked as they had a stare off before she walked over and got into bed. "I'm just so happy Mare.. I can't wait".. She nodded and smiled as she kissed his cheek, "So am I.. I can't wait either.. We should start thinking of some names soon I think.. boys and girls names". She snuggled into him and yawned a little, "We will.. I hope we can agree", He said chuckling as he kissed her forehead and looked at her when all he got was silence back. Mary was fast asleep already and Ben smiled, switching the light off and closing his own eyes thinking of some names and dreaming about what it would be like to have two little babies.

-Dream-

Ben had just come home from the fire house after a big fire. He had showered and changed at the fire house because he had two little ones at home and another on the way and he didn't want his pregnant wife or children getting sick from the smell of fire, dirt, soot on his clothes and body. Once he walked inside the twins heard him and ran into his open arms, "Daddy!", they squealed happily. They hadn't seen their Daddy all day as he had been busy fighting fires and were so excited to see him. "Hey guys", He said as he lifted them both up into his arms and kissed both of their foreheads. "Were you good for your Mommy?", He asked as he carried them into the kitchen where Mary was making dinner. "We were very good Daddy", They both said in unison as he let them down and walked over to his wife and kissed her softly. "Hi baby", he whispered happily. "Hey handsome", She answered back, tilting her neck as he placed a kiss on the side of her neck. "How was your day?", She asked as she went back to cooking dinner. He smiled tiredly and looked at her, "It was okay.. The fire still isn't out completely but the captain wanted me to come home and get some rest and spend some time with my family".

He answered, chuckling as he felt his kids tug on his pant legs, "Daddy, look what we made you", They both said as they showed him pictures they drew. He smiled as he knelt down to their level and looked at them, "Wow.. they look amazing.. tell me about them?". He asked wanting the kids to tell him what their drawings were about. "Mine is my hero.. my Daddy saving someone from a fire", His little girl said, "It is wonderful and what is yours about?", He asked his little son, "Mine is my family.. see here is you.. there is Mommy and My sister and me", He said pointing to them each. "Wow.. it is awesome.. I am gonna take them both to work and hang them up in fire house for everyone to see". They both got excited at that and jumped around happily. "How bout Daddy take you both to wash up for dinner", Mary said and both of them were pulling on Ben's arms to take them to the bathroom to wash up. "Come on Daddy", They both said as they pulled him along, Mary giggling at their enthusiasm. The kids and Ben came back a few minutes more and Ben said to them both, "Who wants to help Daddy set the table?". They both raced around grabbing what was needed and ran excitedly to the table, Ben shaking his head wondering where they get all their energy from.

After dinner, Ben set the kids up to color before he began helping Mary with the dishes. Mary was almost 8 months pregnant with their third child and Ben wanted to help out as much as he could. "You look tired babe.. I will give the kids their baths tonight", He said softly as he leant into kiss her cheek, "You have been working all day honey.. You look worse then me", She said lightly giggling. He smiled, "Ha-Ha.. I am fine.. I don't want you to hurt your back leaning over the tub", He said as he put the last of the dishes away. She smiled and placed a kiss on his lips, "You are to good for me Benjamin Kinkirk". She said as she wrapped her arms around him. "No way.. It is you who is way to good for me Mary Kinkirk.. Just relax.. go have a bath in our master ensuite and I will give the kids their bath and tucked up ready for bed.. You have had them all day and deserve to relax. It is not easy running after two active two year olds when you are 8 months pregnant". "Thanks Ben.. You are so amazing", She said as she kissed him again.

Ben called the children and told them it was bathtime. They started to run upstairs but slowed down after a warning from their father and walked the rest of the way up. He decided to give them a bath together so it was easier for him, famous last thoughts, he thought to himself. The kids seemed to be even more excited by being in the water and were splashing and moving around, it was lucky that Ben decided to only put on casual clothes cause he was now soaked and he hadn't even washed them yet. "Okay.. settle down.. I gotta get you cleaned now". He washed them both and then washed their hair, being careful not to get any soap in their eyes. Once they were done, he got them out one at a time and dried them off and then let the plug out and carried them into the bedroom and dressed them. "Let's go say goodnight to Mommy and I will read you a story and then its off to sleep okay". They both nodded and they went to say goodnight to Mary and cuddled her, each kissing her belly and the Ben took them to read. He finally got them to sleep and then came back into the bedroom sighing tiredly as he collapsed on the bed.

Mary laughed playfully and smiled, "They are hard work aren't they babe", She said softly. "Oh yeah.. where do they get their engery from?" Mary moved behind her husband and began to massage his back, working all the tightness and kinks out of his sore muscles. He let out a soft low moan and closed his eyes, his head falling forward, "Mm thanks babe.. that feels so nice". Mary smiled and kissed the back of his neck, "You are most welcome honey", She said as she continued to relax him and massage his back till he was almost falling asleep. "Let's get you some sleep.. my sleepy head", She whispered as she helped lay him down, his head falling gently onto the pillow. Mary snuggled up beside him turning the lights off and smiled as he whispered, "I love you Mare". She whispered back, I love you too".

-End Dream-

-Meanwhile at The Kinkirk Residance in Buffalo-

Margaret Kinkirk-Bennett and Frank Bennett were ecstatic that her youngest son was having a baby with his wife, They had been waiting for what seemed liked forever for Ben to settle down and have a family and now they were having twins. She couldn't wait to tell Patty-Mary and just as she was settling down into bed to read a good book, she heard the front door open and close, indicating Patty-Mary was home. Maggie as she was called to everyone was not one to wait and so she flung the covers off and put her robe on, padding down the hallway to the kitchen, "Hi sweetie", She said in greeting, waking over and kissing her check, "How was your date with Samantha?", She asked as she headed to the kettle to boil some water for tea. Patty-Mary smiled and nodded loving how supportive her mother was despite her reservations to begin with when she first found out about her being a lesbian. "It was really nice, we went for a drive and had a romantic picnic and watched the fireworks together", She answered back happily.

"Well, I am glad you had a wonderful time sweetie.. I am so glad to see you so happy", her mother said as she hugged her, "Would you like a cup of tea?". Patty-Mary smiled and grabbed two mugs from the cupboard, "Thanks Mom, I really appreciate it and sure, I would love one". Once Maggie had made the tea, they sat at the kitchen table with some cookies, "So.. How are things going between you two?", Maggie asked her daughter genuinely curious and happy. Patty-Mary took a sip and smiled, "It is going really well, I think we are starting to get more serious, She asked if I would consider moving in with her". Maggie was a little torn, she was really happy for her daughter and loved having her last little baby at home so it was hard to think of her moving away again. She had come home after college and Margaret was so happy to have her back. "Just make sure it is right for you both and you are happy with whatever decision you make". Patty-Mary smiled and took her mother's hand and squeezed softly, " Thanks, I will and I do really appreciate your support"..

"So anyway", She continued, "What has been happening here, did you and Frank have a nice night". She asked as they both took a sip of their tea. "Well.. We had a great night and it was topped off by some wonderful news", Maggie said as she remembered what she came out here for. Patty-Mary looked at her mother curiously, "What news Mom?', She asked as she held the cup in her hand and dipped her cookie into her tea and took a bite. "Well.. I was talking to Ben and Mary on Skype earlier... ", She paused for a more dramatic effect, "We are going to have two new little additions to the family soon.. Mary is pregnant with twins". Patty-Mary almost spat her tea out and her eyes went really wide, "Wow.. really.. it is about time", She said laughing softly. "What do you mean about time, they only got married last New Years eve which is what 6 or so months ago", Her mother said laughing with her. "I know, but these two have known each other for years and it is long overdue". Patty-Mary explained.

"I do know what you mean", Maggie said with a nod of understanding. "I just can't wait to have some more grandchildren.. Ohh Ben and Mary are going to talk to Kevin and Lucy about coming here for a weekend sometime soon, They would love to meet Samantha and Frank and I have yet to be formally introduced to her as well". Patty-Mary nodded shyly and smiled, "She would love to meet you all as well.. and I have missed hanging out with my brothers and their families". Patty-Mary was a journalist and travelled a lot so she didn't get to see her family as often as she would have liked, however she just secured a more permanent job with the Buffalo Daily News so she would be home more often now and could see her family and her girlfriend more. They both finished their tea and Patty-Mary carried their mugs to the sink and washed them out. "I will call Ben tomorrow to congratulate them both", She said as she yawned a little. Her mother smiled and hugged her, "Get some rest sweetheart.. I love you".. Patty-Mary smiled and kissed her mother's cheek, "I love you too Mom". As they walked out of the kitchen, Margaret flicked the light switch and they both headed off to their bedrooms to get some much needed sleep, Maggie thinking of her grandchildren and Patty-Mary thinking of her girlfriend and feeling her heart melt when she recalled her girlfriend asking her if she would consider moving in with her.

It was something she wanted a lot, Patty-Mary had many failed romances and now she found she had met her match, her one true love and she honestly didn't care what her lover's gender was. Samantha Collins was beautiful, sassy, smart, kind and just down right amazing. She had a fun and wonderful playful personality but was also very romantic and sensitive and it just felt so right to Patty-Mary to want to be with this woman. Although she was born a Catholic, she knew that she couldn't let her religion stop her from being with the one she loved and felt happy and safe with and she was just so happy that her parents and her family were supportive of her decision. It was really hard and confusing for her at first to deal with herself but as she started to give herself over to her emotions and feelings, she found herself becoming more at east with it. Telling her parents was so hard and she could still remember that day as if it was yesterday. She had felt so scared but was finally all out in the open. She didn't want to hide her true self anymore. As she thought of how safe and warm she felt basking in her love, she quickly fell asleep, dreaming of having a family and perhaps one day being able to call her girlfriend her wife.

-Back at Ben and Mary Kinkirk's Residence-

5:30am 5th July 2012

Ben woke up with his wife wrapped around him by a text message from his little baby sister telling them congratulations and Best wishes and she hoped to see them all very soon. Ben typed a quick reply back, smiling softly as he got out of bed and walked to his wardrobe to change into his running gear. Once he was dressed, he sat by his wife's side and kissed her lips gently and spied the note pad sitting on the bed side table, so he wrote her a quick note to say he was going for a run and maybe the gym before doing some laps in the pool. He left the note where she could see it and pulled the blankets up over her a little more seeing her shivering from the gentle thrum of the air conditioning. He stood up and grabbed his ipod shuffle and his keys an headed downstairs and out the door to begin his run. As he began running, he couldn't help but think of so many moments in his life that finally led him to meet and fall in love with Mary and he just knew that he was the most luckiest man in the world for finding her and blessed she felt the same way.

Being a husband and a father was something he was longing and craving for all of his life, He saw how loving his mother and father were to each other and how good a mother and father they were to him and his siblings and he couldn't think of anything better then following in his father's footsteps and becoming a fireman, a husband and a father. He thought of all the painful moments in their relationship that Mary and himself went through and how scary it was that day he showed up at her apartment unannounced. He was afraid that Mary would not want anything more to do with her anymore but was so glad when she told him she still felt the same and wanted to give their relationship another chance. He knew though he would have done whatever he could this time to convince her if she had said no because Mary was way to important for him to just walk away. Now that they were married, Ben knew that he would never do anything to jeopardize or hurt their marriage or Mary. He loved her with all of his heart and as he jogged past a florist, He smiled to himself as he decided to buy her some flowers on his way home.

Stirring lightly in her sleep as she felt him kiss her lips, Mary was too tired to wake up fully and just snuggled back into the blankets smiling. She knew Ben was an early riser, but it never bothered her. If she wasn't pregnant herself, she would be going with him on one of his training sessions, of course she was still able to exercise and she did that daily to keep in shape, but she would not be able to keep up with Ben's pace with two growing twins inside her so she was happy to stay in bed and just sleep in a little for once. She fell back into a deep sleep and only woke up when she heard the door open and close indicating Ben was home from his run. She slowly blinked her eyes open and looked at the clock on her bedside table seeing it was now 7:40am. She yawned and stretched her body as Ben walked in with a bunch of flowers in a vase, "Good Morning babe.. I got you something", He said as he pulled the vase from behind his back and walked over to Mary's side of the bed. "Aww thanks babe", She said as he leant down to kiss her softly, his hand moving to put the vase down on bedside table.

Mary giggled as she pushed him away with a fake disgusted look on her face, "Babe.. I love you.. but please.. go take a shower". He looked at her and smelt under his arm pits and asked her, "Do I smell babe?". Mary nodded her head giggling again and said, "Ohh yeah.. you do". She stood up and reached for her robe and began to walk out of the room, "I'm going to head downstairs to put on a pot of coffee for you.. I love you". She said smiling, putting her hand up to stop Ben as he began to walk closer to her.. "Uhhh Uhhh, No kissing or cuddling till after your shower", She said as Ben pouted a little, "Ohh okay babe.. I'll go shower". As Ben headed into the ensuite, Mary began walking downstairs and headed down into the kitchen to start the coffee for Ben and the kettle for herself to make a cup of tea. She took a piece of paper and a pen and wrote down some things she wanted to do. She wanted them to look at the available bedrooms and decide which room to use for the twins. While they will share a room with Mary and Ben initially , they will eventually share a room with each other after that till they were old enough to decide if they wanted separate rooms.

She decided that she would wait for Ben to finish in the shower and change before she went over their plans for the day, however she knew Ben would be happy doing this with her, it is one of the reasons why she loved him so much, because even if he wasn't enthuasiastic about the idea, he still loved being with her and spending time with her and made herself a cup of tea and sat down to read the news paper, smiling as she saw an article with her good friend Sandy Jameson in the paper talking about a new kids program she was doing at her father and sister's church. It made her proud to see the church being talked about in such a positive light and couldn't wait for the day her children would be baptized by her father at their church. She knew her father would be so proud to bring to new family members into the christian faith and just hoped that Ben and his family would be understanding of it. His family were catholic and she wasn't sure if they would be okay if her father did the baptizing in his church. This made her worry a little, but only a little, for now she decided to push her worry aside and concentrate on what things she had to do today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all like this chapter and where I am going with certain characters.. I am sorry if my same sex couple has offended anyone, but I like the idea of it so I will continue it.. As I said it won't be a main part of the story, but it will be there as a minor storyline along with the rest of the Camden/Kinkirk family. If I get enough interest, I may even think of doing a spin off with those two characters, but we will see.. I still have lots to say and do with this one. The next chapter will speed up and will be a couple of months maybe down the track.


	11. Going on a Buffalo holiday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own any of the character of 7th Heaven except any that I create myself and If I did own them, Mary and Ben would have stayed together. Please enjoy and I am sorry for the delay. This does go back and forth between flashbacks and present time a few times, so just warning you about that and the flash backs have been taken from the show again.

-Kinkirk Residence-

24th August 2012

12:00pm

It was now around six weeks later and Mary was now 19 weeks pregnant which was around 5 months pregnant and already in maternity wear seeing as how she was carrying twins. She was lucky that the maternity wear was more fashionable then when her Mom was pregnant with her and her elder siblings. It was still very warm in California and It was getting a little hard for her now.. Due to the extra blood volume in her body to help her babies grow, she was feeling warmer anyway and the California heat wasn't doing anything to help that, so she knew she had to drink a lot of water to be able to better regulate her body temperature. She was so glad they were headed off to Buffalo for the week where it was starting to get a little cooler.. Maybe she would get a little bit of relief from the heat. It was almost unbearable for her and lower back, her legs and her feet were swollen and sore and in desperate need of a back and foot rub. She would get Ben on that soon, she thought to herself.

"Babe?", Ben asked her softly, "You ready to go?". He asked as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck, his hands going around her stomach protectively. "Yeah.. I am ready honey". She said as she turned to face him and kissed his lips. "I rang the airline and my doctor to make sure I could fly and they said I could.. The drive would have been way too long for me to make". It would have taken a day and and some hours to drive there and for Mary.. that would have been an even longer drive as she was feeling slightly uncomfortable and as she was drinking more and the babies were pressing on her bladder when they kicked and moved around, she was needing to use the bathroom more often as well. "I know.. They would have come here though if you couldn't get there, but I am glad we can go and see them, Maybe the cooler weather will be good for you sweetie", Ben said as he kissed her cheek softly, "I hope so.. I know having the air conditioner on all the time is not a good idea, but right now, it is all that is keeping me comfortable". She said as she frowned a little. She loved being pregnant but it sure was taking it's toll on her.

"Are we meeting Lucy, Kev and Savy at the airport?", She asked as he took their suitcase and headed downstairs with it, "Kevin is organising a rental van, so we can all head to the airport together.. They should be hear soon", He said as he tackled the heavy bags and put them near the door. "Now do you have everything you need sweetie?", He asked as he grabbed the carry on bag and checked it again. "Yes, I have everything", She said as she looked though her handbag which was her carry on bag and made sure everything she needed was there and nodded. "Yes..". She confirmed again. She felt the babies kicking at her bladder and sighed a litte as she realized she needed the bathroom again. "I'll be back babe". She headed into the downstairs bathroom and went and then washed up, smiling as she felt them kicking again, placing her hand on her stomach as she walked back into the hallway where she saw her sister, brother in law and niece standing in the living room with Ben.

"Hey Aunt Mary", Savannah said running over to her Aunt and hugging her as best she could, "Hey Sweetie", Mary said back with a big smile on her face. "You all ready to go see Nan and Pop and Aunt Patty". Savannah had taken to calling Patty-Mary just Patty as it was easier for her to say and Savannah was the only one Patty-Mary allowed to call her that. "Yup" She said excitedly as she bounded back over to her parents. "Okay.. Well let's get going, we don't want to be late", Kevin said as he clapped his hands together to get them all to move on out. "We just gotta make a quick stop to Mom and Dad's", Lucy explained softly, "Savannah won't go without saying Goodbye to Mom and Dad". Mary nodded understanding, she was feeling the same and had hoped they would be going to see them before they left too. "It's no problem, I didn't feel like I could go without saying goodbye to them as well.". She said with a smile as she grabbed her bag and headed out, making sure she had her water bottle with her. Ben locked up and they all piled into the van and headed over to Annie and Eric's.

-Camden Residence-

12:51pm

"Don't the kids go to Buffalo today?", Eric asked Annie as she looked in the fridge, making a list of what things she needed to get when she went down to the market. Annie looked up and nodded, "Yes, they are dropping by here first to say goodbye and to drop the keys in so we can keep an eye on their homes". She answered with a smile as she continued taking notes. Eric, ever the concerned parent asked, "Are you sure it is okay for Mary.. Our 5 months pregnant daughter with twins.. Our unborn grandchildren to be on an air-plane?". Annie smiled softly and walked over to him, kissing his cheek, "Yes.. Mary has spoken to her Doctor and even to Matt and She is healthy so there is no reason why she can't go on the plane". She said trying to reassure her husband. Eric was always the worrier in the family and it was the worry and stress that always make his heart issues come back and Annie was always making sure he was as relaxed as he could be and not worrying. "But", He started.. Annie cut him off, "Mary will be fine Eric.. She will be just fine".

Just then, they heard a horn sounding from outside, "That must be them", Annie said as she rushed outside to greet them, Eric following behind her. "Hey Guys", Annie said as she walked up over to the van. "Hi Nanny", came a little soft voice from the back. Annie smiled wider and opened the van door and leaned in to see Savannah, "Hi there honey.. You excited to see your other Nana and Pop?", She asked. Savannah nodded her head, "All ready.. ", came the response from their granddaughter. Eric came up behind them and smiled, still a little concerned, "Are you going to be okay Mary?". Mary shook her head in amusement and smirked, "Dad.. I will be fine.. I am cleared to fly, it is all okay, please don't worry". She said as she looked at him. Eric nodded and sighed a little, "Okay.. If you are sure". He said with another sigh. "I am very sure Dad". She said smiling and giggling a little.

Lucy looked at her mother and smiled softly as she took Mary's and her spare house keys and gave them to Annie, "Okay.. Here are our spare keys, So if you just wanna check on things and pick up the mail for us.. it would be wonderful please". Annie smiled as she took them, "Of course.. It is no problem at all". The girls both smiled gratefully at their mother, "Thanks Mom", They said at the same time. "Okay, well we better get going, we don't want to be late" Kevin said to them all. They all said their goodbyes and promised to phone their parents once they had landed. Once they reached the airport, Kevin parked the van and they all piled out and grabbed their bags. "I'll go grab a cart", Ben said as he spied some carts they could put their bags on, Kevin going over and grabbing another one as they had so many bags they needed to of them. Savannah had fallen asleep, so Lucy carried her into the airport while the men wheeled the carts and Mary followed behind Lucy and Savannah.

-On the plane-

Once they all went through security, they headed towards the plane and found their seats. Savannah was seated between her parents and Mary and Ben was seated in front of them. "Hey Luce", Mary said playfully, "Do you remember the time when we went to Buffalo when you first met Kevin and you were being a pest on the flight". Lucy giggled and smiled, sitting forward as she remembered. She wasn't as high maintenance now when she flies as she used to be and she could look back on that time and laugh. "Remember as well when someone", She said looking at Kevin, "Took my bag when you left it sitting in the middle of the room Mary". She said laughing again. "Ohh and when you told me that Kevin was as gorgeous as Brad Pitt and you are always free for Brad Pitt". Mary said chipping in as they continued in a fit of giggles. Savannah looked at her Mom and Aunt and then at her Dad and Uncle.. "What is so funny Daddy?", She asked in her sweet voice. Kevin smiled as he kissed his daughter's forehead, "Well, why don't we tell you baby girl".

\- flash back-

April 2002

Lucy was hitting her call button repeatedly, feeling rather annoyed that the air hostess was ignoring her. Mary looked at her and scoffed a little, "You know, flight attendants have a lot more important things to on a plane then bring you nuts". Lucy looked at her and folded her arms, "No they don't". Just then one of the flight attendants came over to where Lucy and Mary were seated, pressing the call button off, "I'm sorry but the captain has put on the seatbelt sign indicating our final descent into Buffalo", She said as she pointed and indicated to Lucy. She then put Lucy's seat forward continuing, "I know I speak for all of us serving you today when I say, we really are going to miss you". Lucy was looking more annoyed and as the woman stood up, she asked her, "Can I get some peanuts?". The woman looked back at her and said, "I'm sorry, We've closed up the galley". Lucy looked at her, "I don't want a steak, I just want some more nuts". Mary looked down rolling her eyes a little in embarrassment.

The flight attendant stood up a little more, grateful she would be rid of her soon, "Is there anything else I can help you with", She said as politely as she could. Lucy spoke up, "Yeah, You could get me the blanket and pillow I asked for three hours ago". The woman just nodded and smiled, turning around, Lucy watching her as she went. She then turned back around to face Mary, "Hey, Can I help it if I'm high maintenance when I fly", She said seeing the look on her sisters face. She continued, "I get nervous and I need comforting things around me like a blanket or a pillow or nuts". Mary looked at her and spoke as she pointed towards the window, "Forget about the nuts, We're almost in Buffalo". Lucy looked a little nervous, "Why aren't you more excited?", Mary continued, and Lucy looked back at her and smirked a little, "Don't get me wrong, I am happy to be going with you for the weekend and I'm grateful that you sprung for my ticket, but it's not a vacation", She said, her hands in the air a little. "We're just going to the Colonel's so you can pack and ship the stuff you left behind".

Mary looked down and spoke softly, "This trip is more then that, it's a fresh start for me". She looked at Lucy and then back down again, Lucy repeating her last words, "Fresh start?". Mary nodded and looked back up and Lucy quickly realized what that meant, "Ohh No.. How could I be so stupid.. You'r not going back for your stuff, you're going back for Ben". Lucy looked at Mary and raised her eyebrows, "I'm right aren't I?.. This trip is about Ben". Mary turned to look at Lucy, "The trip is partly about Ben". Lucy smirked a little, "And I'll bet you he doesn't even know you're coming to Buffalo". She raised her eyebrows a little more, Mary responding, "Hey when he came to Glenoak, I didn't know he was coming to Glenoak". She tried to reason. Lucy scoffed, "And when he left Glenoak, he made it clear he didn't want to see you again". Mary looked down little smiling before gazing at Lucy, "Which is why I'm not telling him I'll be in Buffalo". Lucy shook her head and Mary continued, Just relax everything is gonna be fine.. I've got a plan". Lucy looked back at Mary, "Your plans always end badly". She couldn't help but comment.

"Not this time", Mary said and then all of a sudden the Pilot came on the line, "Yeah, We've got a little rough air up ahead on our approach to Buffalo, so make sure you got your seatbelts fastened, It's gonna be a bumpy ride all the way down". As the pilot said this, Lucy was quickly fastening her seatbelt and then grabbed the arm rests of her seat tightly. Mary giggled and smirked, "Are you okay?, She asked softly. Lucy replied looking a little tense, "I'd be better if I had nuts". Mary just chuckled again and went back to reading her magazine while Lucy tried to calm herself, breathing in and out slowly and deeply.

-end flash back-

Savannah was giggling hysterically at her mother, trying to control her giggles which made the rest of the Kinkirk's giggle as well. One Savannah was calm she spoke, "Mommy.. You are so funny.. ". She said as she almost keeled over in anther of giggles. Lucy smiled and laughed a little, "Well, that was when Mommy was not as relaxed as she is now". Savannah smiled and cuddled into her mother, "So.. What happens next, When do you meet Daddy?". Lucy smiled again, "It's coming up soon", She said as Mary began to tell the next part of the story, all of them listening in intently and funnily enough.. the same flight attendant was on duty and had recognised Lucy. She was listening in as well, pleasantly surprised at how Lucy's attitude to flying had changed since she last saw her, she also noticed Mary who she had worked with for a time and smiled wider as she noticed she was still with Ben and looked to be pregnant as well. She would have to go over and say Congratulations when she had a chance.

-flash back-

Mary and Lucy were at the baggage carousel, looking a little impatient as they waited for Lucy's bag, they saw a bag go around which was not Lucy's and Mary turned to her and spoke, "How many times are we gonna watch that bag go around?". Lucy looked at her, "Until it turns into my bag... the bag they apparently lost". Mary spoke again, "I don't really like this airline".. Lucy stared at her, "So, why did we fly them?". Mary shrugged sheepishly, "Well, they had a two for one ticket deal". Lucy looked a little offended, "So my ticket didn't cost you anything". Mary shook her head smiling. "Then why have I been thanking you for buying me a ticket when you didn't", Lucy said a little annoyed. "Because you're nice", was Mary's reply with a grin. Lucy piped up with, "They probably didn't lose my bag, my ticket which didn't cost me anything probably doesn't include luggage service". Mary looked at her sighing softly before Lucy continued on her rant.

"You know what", Lucy said as she ticked off a list on her fingers, "No peanuts, no blankets, the flight attendants were rude, the ride was bumpy, they lost my bag... these are signs of a doomed trip.. face it.. the universe knows what you're up to with Ben and the universe is not happy..". Mary scoffed as Lucy continued, "And for some reason.. the universe is taking it out on me", She said, raising her voice more, "So come on, you know.. let's just get on a plane and go back home before a cab runs me over". Mary finally spoke up, "We're not going home, I told you, I have a plan, I've got things to do". Lucy interrupted, "And people to stalk". Mary spoke softly, looking at her sister, 'It's love". Lucy replied, "It's a felony. Mary sighed and looked at Lucy, "I'm not leaving till I see Ben". Lucy rolled her eyes and spoke, "Fine, We'll stay.. just watch my bag while I go to the lost luggage department and beg for my suitcase back". She walked off in a huff leaving Mary standing there with her hands in her pocket. Mary looked at her watch and then picked her bags up, absently leaving Lucy's bag in the middle of the floor.

-End flash back-

"So you just left Lucy's bag in the middle of the airport terminal?", Ben asked curiously looking at his wife who shrugged and looked back at him. 'I didn't mean to". He raised his eyebrows at her, "Well, I had to find out where you were babe", She said as she leaned into him for a kiss. Savannah made an "Ewwww" noise as she watched her Aunt and Uncle kiss. Ben chuckled and said.. "One day you will feel differently about that kid". She shook her head, "No way Uncle Ben". She covered her eyes as they kissed again and snuggled into her parents, "So anyway.. back to the story.. Please". She said smiling softly. Lucy nodded as she continued the story, "Okay.. What happened next was this".

-flash back-

Lucy walked back over to where Mary was now sitting on her bag and spoke, "Okay, So the airline gave me a number to check the status of my bag, so we can go". Mary stood up smiling, "Great, let's get out of here", She answered back. "I made some phone calls and found out that Ben's not gonna be at the fire-house this weekend.. So.. We'll swing by the Colonel's and then well, you know". Lucy looked at her confused, "I don't.. swing by the Colonel's? We're not staying at the Colonel's?", She asked. Mary smiled wider, "No, we're staying at Wilson's old apartment. I'm friendly with his ex-landlady Mrs. Corning and when I told her I was coming for the weekend, she offered me Wilson's old apartment.. It's vacant". Lucy just looked at Mary like she was crazy to which Mary responded, "Come on, we're big girls now, we don't need to stay with our grandparents". Lucy just looked at her again, Mary sighing, "They know we're not staying.. They're okay with that". Lucy shook her head, "This is all part of your grand plan, right?.. The grand plan that has something but not everything to do with Ben?" Mary then nodded and smiled, "Ugh.. fine, whatever", Lucy said giving up.

Lucy choose that moment to look down and noticed her hand bag was not there, "Where's my bag?", She asked looking back at Mary who looked a little confused, "Lost.. remember". Lucy stared at her, "Not that bad the other bag, the bag I asked you to watch". Mary looked around and then back to Lucy, "I couldn't have been gone more then a minute", She said softly. Lucy sighed, feeling annoyed, Mary trying to make an excuse, "I had to make a phone call". Lucy sighed again, and then noticed one of the security people and walked over to him, "Excuse me, have you seen a small black bag?". The security guard answered back, "The police took it". "Your're not the police?", Lucy asked a little confused and rather annoyed. "No, I'm airport security, part of an interim private security team hired by the management to make this airport a safer place", he said responding to her. "That's all very informative but really, all I care about is my bag", Lucy said as Mary picked her bags up and headed over to Lucy.

The man continued, "Any bag left unattended in the terminal is confiscated an destroyed, it's a matter of national security", He finished. Lucy stumbled over a her words a bit, I.. doubt my make-up is a matter of national security so can I have my bag back please?". The man said one simple word, "No". Lucy was now getting more annoyed, "Yes". He answered, "No", again. Lucy stepped closer to him, "Give me back my bag", She said a little forcefully. The man just looked at her, "Ma'am please step back". He asked and she stood back a little, closer to Mary who was watching on in horror as Lucy spoke again, "You're not gonna give me my back back, are you?". He simply stated, "No I am not". Lucy threw her hands up, looking more annoyed, "Doomed, doomed, doomed", she said as she turned back towards Mary, "This whole trip is doomed", She said as her voice got louder, "Excuse me, Ma'am but what exactly is doomed?", He asked. Lucy spoke a bit more angrily "The flight I was on, this airport, this baggage carousel, me, her, you", She said louder and as he motioned for two other security guards to come over.

As the two other man walked over, Mary noticed them and tugged Lucy's arm, "Come on Lucy, let's go", She said as the men came over. The security guard she had been arguing with said, "I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you to step aside and take your shoes off, we need to wand you". Lucy looked a little in dignified, "Well I might step aside, but I'm not taking anything off". He asked her, "Are you refusing to be searched?". "Yes I am.. As an American law-abiding citizen, I'm refusing to be searched", She said speaking a little sarcastically. "Make a note that the suspect refused to be searched", He said speaking to one of the other men. Lucy looked at the men and then rolled her eyes as Mary whispered, "Lucy!". Lucy turned to look at her, "What!". She said feeling like she was right. She looked at the man again and said, "Ohh right... You know, I'm a terrorist, me.. Lucy Camden, leader of the al-Qaeda network, Glenoak division". As she was saying all this, Mary was uncomfortably scratching her neck, wishing the earth would swallow her whole.

"Okay, that's it, You're gonna have to come with us to the security office", He said as he pointed in the direction of the office. 'I didn't do anything". She said looking confused. "You threatened your flight, this airport, this baggage area, You refused to submit to a routine search and you said you were a terrorist.. Oh and you were rude to me". He said and then looked at Mary, "Are you with this woman?". Mary grimaced and shook her head a little, Lucy turning around, "If you say no, I'll kill you". She said feeling even more annoyed and frustrated now. "Ma'am", the man said as Lucy turned back around, "I really think things will go better for you if you would stop making threats". Before Lucy could say another word, Mary placed her hand on her shoulder and said a little forcefully, "Lucy.. shut up". The man then held out his hand for them to follow him, Mary picking her bags up as they were escorted to the security office.

-End flash back-

They were all in fits of laughter as Mary helped re-tell the story of how Lucy was asked to be searched and refused, Savannah looking at her mother, "Mommy.. I am only seven years old and I know not behave like that", She said putting her hands on her hips. They all laughed and Lucy said, "Yes, well your Daddy and I taught you well". She said as she pulled her daughter in for a hug. "So When do you meet Daddy?", She asked her eyes widening happily. Mary smiled, "Yes baby girl.. It is coming up very soon", She said as she leant around and tickled the young girl making her giggle. "Okay then.. more please". They nodded and Mary looked at her watch, "Still two hours to go.. That should be enough time", She said smiled softly as she continued on with the story.

-flash back-

Mary and Lucy sat on two chairs near airport security, with their arms folded, Mary sighing as she shook her head, "This is taking forever", Lucy looking at her, "It's not my fault". Mary looked at her, "Yes it is.. You shouldn't have antagonized the security people, and you shouldn't have said you were a terrorist". Lucy spat back defensively, "I was joking, Can't anyone take a joke?" Mary sighed, shaking her head, "You can't say jokes like that in an airport, they don't hear jokes, they hear threats". Lucy looked back at her sister, "So when did you become so knowledgeable about airport security?". Mary just shrugged her shoulders and Lucy continued, "You know whose fault this really is don't you?". Mary looked at her with her hands folded across her chest, "It's the idiot police officer who decided that my bag was a threat to national security.. Now I'd like to meet the pea-brain moron with a badge who decided my hair-dryer and make-up were a threat to anyone". She continued on with her rant, her own hands folded across her chest.

Just then a man's voice called out, "Ah.. that would be me" . Lucy looked surprised as did Mary and the both uncrossed their arms and looked around at the man who had spoken and was now walking towards them. Lucy sat up a little straighter with a small smile and her eyes wide as he stopped right near the girls. "Hi, I'm Officer Kinkirk.. or as my friends call me.. the pea-brained moron with a badge". Lucy kept looking at him, "You can call me Kevin if you'd like". Lucy just sat their smiling and Mary spoke up, "Look officer... Kevin.. Are we allowed to leave? My sister wasn't threatening anyone, She was just upset". She said softly to him. He looked at Mary, "You're free to go, You both passed the security check.. Sorry for the inconvenince, but these days, we have to take every threat seriously, even threats from beautiful girls". Lucy smiled wider and giggled softly to herself thinking how handsome he looked, especially in his uniform. She knew right then she had met someone really special.

Kevin continued, speaking softly as he looked at Lucy, thinking just how beautiful she was, "Actually.. I came up here to apologize in person about your bag, but in my own defence it was unattended for a while and I do have my orders". Mary nodded and spoke, "Yeah sure, no problem". He went on, "I have you're bag outside, I got to it before it was destroyed.. I was really lucky". Lucy had finally found her voice, "Yeah, lucky". Kevin grinned as he repeated, "Really lucky". They both just stared into each other's for a moment, not wanting or willing to look away before Mary spoke up, "Thank you very much, We should be going", She moved to grab her bags and stood up, "Maybe I can take you two out for dinner tonight, sort of an apology dinner, I can bring my brother along to you know, to even things out". He said hopfully, his eyes locked on Lucy still. Lucy smiled wider as he kept speaking, "I'd really like to make this up to you in some way. I know we just met but you can't get any safer then a police officer". He added hopeful that would be a bonus.

Mary smiled and politely declined, "Thanks, but no thanks... We have plans". Lucy took her eyes off Kevin and looked at her sister and then back to Kevin, "Excuse me", She said as she stood up and pulled Mary over to the side with her. "We have plans?", She asked when they were alone. Mary just looked at him, "Did you see him?.. He's gorgeous.. Like Brad Pitt gorgeous and for your information, when Brad Pitt asks you out, You never", She said emphasising the never, "Have plans.. You are always free for Brad Pitt.. We're free.. Get it?". Mary just kept staring at her, "Free as birds because that is the best-looking man who has flirted with me in over a year". She stopped for a moment, "No.. that is the best-looking man who has ever flirted with me. So we are going to accept his gracious invitation". Mary looked at her and said, "No.. I wanna see Ben". Lucy shook her head, "You don't even know where Ben is and I can't go alone, You have to come with me". Mary spoke a little forcefully, "No". Lucy got an idea, "I don't wanna do this, but you forced my hand, If you don't come with me tonight, I'm going to call Mom and Dad and tell them all about your plan". Mary shrugged, "You don't know anything". Lucy smirked, "I know you have a plan and they know that's not good.. It's never", Once again emphasising the never, "good". "I can't believe you'd call them", Mary said and Lucy grabbed Mary's chin by her hand and turned her face towards Kevin, they both looked and Kevin smiled. Okay, I get it.. He's gorgeous".

Lucy let go of her face and Mary spoke again, "But if we have time after dinner, you're coming to Ben's apartment with me". Lucy nodded in agreement, "Fine", She said as she pulled Mary's arm and headed back over to where Kevin was standing smiling wide. "Where shall we meet you?", She asked as he grinned back wide. He told her the time and location and they said their goodbyes, both Lucy and Kevin excited to see each other again. Lucy could sense he was different from anyone she had ever been with and she felt ready to move on from Jeremy, her former fiancé. Even though he had heard her call him a name, he joked with her and didn't take offence and still wanted to see her. Kevin was feeling a little excited and nervous at the same time. As soon as he heard her talking and saw he, he knew she was someone he wanted to get to know more and spend time with. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and he felt his heart race when he thought of her. He had managed to convince his brother Ben to go out with him, either man unaware that Ben had already met the two girls and that one of the girls was the Mary Camden he was always talking about. Dinner was about to get stressful and none of the four were aware of how the night was going to pan out.

-end flashback-

Once again little Savannah Kinkirk was in fits of laughter, She couldn't believe what her Mommy had called her Daddy, "You really called Daddy that?", She said in between laughing. Mary smiled and nodded, "She really said that", She said as she reached over and pressed her fingers on her nose playfully, Ben was shocked that Mary had indeed planned to see him. "You really did have plans to see me?". He said looking a more then a little shocked. Mary turned to him nodding, "You know that.. I told you I had a choose for a few cities and I picked Buffalo hoping you would pick me too". She took his hand and smiled, lifting it to her mouth and kissing it. "I really regretted how we left things that night in Glenoak and I really wanted to start over with you". He smiled and leant forward, kissing her softly. "I love you Mary Annabelle Kinkirk", he whispered as he placed his hand on her stomach. "I love you too Benjamin Raymond Kinkirk". Lucy, Kevin and Savannah smiled before Savannah said, "I love you all too". They all smiled and gave her a big hug, before Lucy and Kevin spoke

"So.. Still think I am the best-looking man ever?", He said chuckling as he wrapped his arm around her neck, pulling her in close to lean against him. "Of course Kev", She said smiling, "Do you think I am beautiful still?". He looked at her and smiled, "I always have and always will Mrs Kinkirk" and he leant in for a kiss. Just then, they announced they were arriving in Buffalo and for them to put their seats in their upright positons and seatbelts on. Savannah scurried into her seat between her parents and Kevin did her belt up, Mary sighing softly as she tried to get her's on. "Let me help babe", Ben said as he adjusted the seatbelt and helped her buckle it up. "Thanks honey". She took his hand and smiled knowing soon they would be in Buffalo and would be with her in laws who she missed a lot.

-Meanwhile back in California-

It was nearing five in the afternoon and Eric was pacing. He didn't like that his almost five month pregnant daughter was flying almost five hours from California to New York, He didn't like it at all, but he didn't have any control over it. "Have you heard from the kids?", He called out from his study to Annie who was in the kitchen. Annie poked her head around the corner, "No, Not yet, but give them time to get off the plane and get their things and maybe even to get settled", She said chuckling at his impatience. "Well, let me know". He called out, "Will do". She replied as she went back to cooking dinner. As she cooked, David came down and he had a lot of bruises on his body. "David!", She exclaimed, "Where did you get all those bruises?". He looked at her and shrugged his shoulders, "I don't remember". She quickly reached for the phone and phoned Matt and Sarah who were settling well into their new home. "Camden Residence", Sarah said as she picked up the phone. "Hey Sarah, It's Annie.. I was wondering if I could ask you something?", She asked feeling a little worried.

"Sure.. ask away", Sarah said as she held the phone on her shoulder as she began to prepare dinner. "Well.. David has a lot of bruises again, I was wondering if you think we should take him to the hospital and get him checked". Sarah had become David's Paediatrician and knew all about his blood disorder and had taken it upon herself to make sure the family was all well informed of new treatments. As Annie and Sarah talked, David let out a little groan, rolling his eyes as Sam walked in. "Who's Mom talking to?", He asked curiously as he grabbed the juice from the fridge. "Sarah.. She wants to know if I have to go to the hospital again cause of these", David said as he showed his bruises to Sam. "If he is having more symptoms of bleeding like nose bleeds or his gums bleeding or feeling really lethargic, then I would take him now.. otherwise I would maybe just head down for a blood test in the morning", Sarah answered her as Matt walked into the room and kissed his wife and looked at her questioningly. She put her hand over the receiver and whispered, "It's your Mom, David has a lot of bruises again".

Annie asked David if he had any nose bleeds or anything else was wrong and he shook his head as he sat on bench stool. "No, he hasn't had any of those symptoms". She replied to Sarah. "Okay then, why don't we get blood taken tomorrow and I will get a rush order on the results and then we can talk about our options once we know the results", Sarah said looking at Matt to make sure he thought that was a good idea. He nodded his head and rubbed Sarah's arm, silently telling her that he trusted her with all of his family. "Okay, Thanks Sarah.. We'll see you tomorrow then". Sarah said goodbye and hung up sighing. She knew it was a possibility that David would relapse and his counts would go down again and didn't like discussing treatment to any family, but it was worse when it was her own family. As Annie hung up, Eric walked in, "Was that the girls?", He asked expectedly. "No.. it wasn't". Annie explained what was going on to Eric who nodded frowning. Now he had two of his children to be more worried about. "Try to stay calm Eric, there is no use stressing out". She said softly.

Up in the garage apartment, Ruthie was reading a letter from Martin, He was still away and she was missing him so much. She smiled though as he told her some silly stories and felt tears in her eyes as he wrote how much he missed her and loved her. Just as she got to a point where he said he was trying to organise a surprise for her, her cell phone rang. She picked it up, wondering who it could be when all of a sudden she heard a familiar voice on the other end, "I told you I was working on a surprise baby", He said through the phone line. She sat up, her lips turning up into a big grin as the tears threatened to fall, "Martin", She whispered happily.. "Wow, this is an amazing surprise". He had managed to get a phone call to her, The Marines could only make very limited phone calls back to their families, so most of their correspondence was through letters and she had missed his voice. "I can't believe you called baby". She said still a little shocked at it all. He chuckled and smiled, "I just missed you so much and guess what.. I have a bigger surprise lined up for you".

She felt her heart race and her stomach got butterflies, "What is it baby?", She asked. "I'll be home for Christmas". He said, his own heart racing inside as he thought about being home with his family and loved ones for the holidays. She couldn't help but let out a little squeal of delight. "Oh Martin.. that is wonderful.. I'm so happy.. When exactly?", She said, just wanting it to be sooner rather then later. "Late November or early December", He said, loving her reaction but having to move the phone away for a moment as she squealed. 'I can't wait baby", She said as she turned her head to look at the photo of them together at their wedding. "Neither can I.. I love you so much Ruthie", he whispered softly. "I love you too Martin". She wanted to tell him so much more, but as she went to open her mouth again, he spoke,"I'm sorry baby.. they want me to get off now, that's all the time I have". She nodded sadly, not wanting him to feel worse at having to end the phone call. "Okay baby, I miss you and love you so much". She said as she began to choke up. "I love you too honey".

He hung the phone up with a sad sigh, his heart breaking knowing she was going to be crying, and wanting nothing more then to be home with her in his arms, but knowing he was doing this for them and his and her family. As Ruthie heard the call end, she started to cry, the tears which were threatening to fall finally letting go and flowing down her cheeks. She was so excited to have in home in a matter of months but it was still so hard every-time she had to let him go knowing it could be the last time she would get to speak to him. She laid down and let herself cry for a little longer, unaware of what was going on in the main house or that her ex T-Bone had come back into town and was now listening to her crying at the bottom of the stairwell to the garage apartment. T-Bone still loved Ruthie and he was totally different from the geek he once was, sure he had made a mistake.. a few actually.. but who was counting and he knew that right now.. when she was lonely and vulnerable was the best time to try to convince her to give him another chance. As he backed out of the garage and walked out of the backyard, he made himself a promise.. Married or not.. he would have her back one way or another.

-Back in Buffalo-

Their plane touched down and they were now able to get off, Kevin picked Savannah up and carried her so she wouldn't get lost and held his wife's hand tight while Ben did the same with Mary. Once they got out into the airport itself, Savannah squealed happily as she saw her great grandparents, the Colonel and Grandma Ruth. "Look Mommy.. Look Daddy", She said as she pointed to them. All four of them looked to where she was pointing, surprised but happy that their grandparents were there to meet them. The Colonel and Ruth walked over to them and "Well Well.. Look who we have here", The Colonel said with a smile on his face. "Hi Colonel, Grandma Ruth", Mary said smiling wider as she leant into hug them both. Lucy followed and Ben and Kevin shook their hands. "We weren't expecting you", Lucy said as they all headed over to the baggage carousel, the woman who knew Mary and served Lucy on earlier Buffalo trip decided not to disturb them all and walked away seeing them chatting to an older couple.

"I know, You're father told us you would be here so we decided to meet you and take you back to the house and maybe tomorrow you can go visit your family", He said looking at Ben and Kevin. "Yes Sir, that is fine with us". They both said as Kevin pulled out his phone to call his mother to let her know they would be there tomorrow sometime. Once they got their bags, they all headed out, The Colonel's private car which would fit them all was out the front and they all piled inside. "So Savannah, I hear you are going back to school soon". She nodded a little shyly and smiled, "Yes Colonel, I start on the fourth", She said as she buckled her seatbelt up. She had remembered to call him Colonel like her mother and aunt told her to and she was quite proud of herself. "So Mary, Congratulations on the baby news", Ruth said as she reached out and took one of Mary's hands and one of Ben's hands in hers, squeezing softly. "Thanks Grandma Ruth, We are very excited". She said smiling. "I bet that father of your's didn't want you to fly out here either", The colonel added with a grin. Mary nodded, "No, he wasn't all that impressed.. Speaking of I should call them".

She took out her cell and pressed the number for home and put the cell to her ear, letting it dial and smiling as her father answered, "Hey Dad.. It's just me.. We are here in Buffalo and got a wonderful surprise at the airport" She said happily. "Let me guess. The Colonel and Mom", He said as he helped Annie with the rest of dinner. "Yeah, Thanks Dad.. It is great.. We are staying at their house tonight". Mary was always grateful that her grandparents took her in when she needed help and had forged a close bond with them both. She had a nice chat with her father and then hung up, smiling as she rested back against the seat of the car closing her eyes a little. It had been a long flight and she was a little sleepily and before she knew it, she had fallen sound asleep in the car, only waking up when Ben shook her lightly to say that they had finally arrived at her grandparents place. She sighed happily as she sat up and looked around, glad to be back in the place where she finally got her fresh start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this one took so long to update. I had a bit of a writer's block this chapter and then just had so many things happening. I added The Colonel and Ruth in as I thought it wasn't a story if they were in Buffalo and didn't see their grandparents. I was going to originally make Patty-Mary and her girfriend pick them up but then I decided to add the Colonel and Ruth. The next chapter will be about spending the night there and then Margaret, Frank, Patty-Mary and Samantha getting ready for their visit. I hope you like that I tried to include a lot of the family again, It is a main story between Mary and Ben, but I do like the added little story-lines going on with other members of the family. Makes it feel more like the show I think so I hope you are all happy with Martin coming home and the little added tension with T-Bone that will be upcoming. I have decided to make him not as meek and geeky as in the show.


	12. Rembering our first kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own 7th Heaven or any characters except for Frank Bennett and Samantha Collins, I do own Ben's mothers first name as I don't believe it was ever mentioned in the show.. Please enjoy.

Buffalo Kinkirk's  
24th August 2012

Margaret Kinkirk-Bennett just got off the phone with her son Kevin, "So.. The plans have been changed", "She said as she walked back into the living room. "The kids are going to be here sometime tomorrow". She sat down with her cup of tea as Frank, Patty-Mary and Samantha looked at her, "Why,? is something wrong?", Patty-Mary asked looking concerned. "No", Margaret replied, "Mary and Lucy's grandparents live in Buffalo and they surprised their grandchildren by meeting them at the airport, so they decided to stay the night at their house". They all nodded and smiled, "That's sweet of them" Samantha said as she took a sip of her coffee. "It is very sweet". Patty-Mary agreed as she smiled at her girlfriend and leaned into kiss her before turning back to her mother.

"Okay, So Do you have everything organized?", She asked her mother, leaning over to reach for a cookie and took a bite into it. Margaret nodded and smiled, "The bedrooms are all made up, Kevin and Lucy in the guest bedroom upstairs, Ben and Mary in the guest bedroom down stairs and Savannah in her room next to Kevin and Lucy", She said quite proud of herself as she looked at them. "That's great", Patty-Mary said smiling as she sipped her own coffee, "Is there anything else you want us to do or get for tomorrow?". It was now just after 5:30pm and since the rest of her family wasn't going to be here till tomorrow, she wanted to get going and have a quiet night with her girlfriend. "No... just yourselves", She said answering her daughter. Frank was listening in as he was watching tv and looked at the girls and spoke, "You girls can head off now if you like", He knew that Patty-Mary was too polite to say anything and so let her know it was okay.

"You sure Frank..", She replied softly and looks at her Mom, "Mom?... You sure?". Margaret smiled at her daughter and nodded, "Yeah, you guys go and have a nice night". She said as she finished her cup of tea. Patty-Mary and Samantha finished their drinks and stood up, "Okay, well we will get going", Patty-Mary said as she carried their cups into the kitchen and rinsed them out. She walked back out into the living room and leant down to kiss her mother and then her step-father, Samantha bending down to do the same. "Thanks for having us Maggie", Samantha said smiling softly as she stood back up. "You're family, so you are welcome anytime", She said, standing up to walk the girls outside. They walked out and Patty-Mary looked back at her mother, "So.. let me know when they are going to be here". Margaret nodded and smiled, "Of course I will... see you later girls", Frank came out and they both waved as the girls drove out the driveway and drove off.

Margaret an Frank closed the door and smiled at each other, "I really like Sam", She said as she headed into the kitchen to start dinner.. "I really like her too, she is a lovely young woman and I think she is been really good for Patty-Mary", Frank agreed as he walked into the living room and began to tidy up. "So you won't mind if she was to become a more permanent member of our household?", He continued taking their own cups into the kitchen and walked over to the sink and then wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her softly. Margaret was looking through the freezer for something to eat, "I wouldn't mind at all, She is wonderful for Patty-Mary.. I know it took me some time to get used to this, but I really just want to see her happy", She said as she smiled at her husband. "I know honey, You are a wonderful mother and the kids all appreciate everything you do".

Frank opened up a drawer and grabbed the Chinese menu out and closed it again, "Hey why don't we order in tonight, You have been busy cleaning up and getting everything ready so why don't we just relax tonight?", He said as he kissed his wife's cheek. She nodded and smiled, looking at him, "Sounds perfect hon", She said as they both sat down at the dinning room table to choose their favorite dishes. Once that was all sorted, Margaret reached for the phone and dialed and told the woman on the other end what their order was and then told them who it was for and how much it would be.. She hung up and smiled, "It should be here in about 20 or so", She said as she stood up, put the phone back on the hook and grabbed two wine glasses and the wine out of the fridge and filled them up, taking one back over to Frank as he stood up to walk back into the living room so they could wait for their dinner to arrive.

Meanwhile Patty-Mary and Samantha had already picked up some pizza for dinner and were on their way home. Patty-Mary was driving and Samantha had the pizza's leaning on her knees smiling softly and giggling as Patty-Mary began to move her free hand which wasn't needed on the steering wheel to Samantha's knee and squeezing softly, moving her hand slowly up a bit further where it stayed till they got home. There was no words spoken between them on the drive home, they were so comfortable with each other that they could just sit and enjoy each others company. They got home and Patty-Mary drove into the garage, parking it and turning the engine off, taking the keys out and closing the garage. "So Babe", Samantha started, "Why don't we enjoy this pizza, have a couple glasses of wine and watch a movie?".

Patty-Mary nodded and smiled as Samantha moved closer to her allowing her to kiss her lips softly, "I like that idea baby", She said responded as she pulled the other girl closer, "I love you Sammie", She whispered in a hushed tone, smiling wide. "I love you too Trish", She said as she kissed her girlfriend back. Patty-Mary's real name was Patricia-Mary, but to most everybody she was Patty-Mary, however to her girlfriend, she was simply called Trish or Trisha. Patty-Mary's heart pounded fast inside her chest every single time she heard that nickname.. No one else ever had called her that so it was special, just as no one else ever called Samantha.. Sammie.. So both girls had special names for each other. "We should go up before this gets cold babe", Samantha said holding the pizzas up for Patty-Mary to see.. "Yes we should". Patty-Mary walked up the steps of the garage and into the main living room of their house..

Yes.. You heard right.. Their house.. Patty-Mary had officially moved in about three weeks ago and it was going wonderfully. She missed being at home with her parents, but she only lived ten or so minutes away, so it wasn't too bad.. But being able to crawl into bed each night and fall asleep next to her girlfriend was the most amazing feeling in the world. She now knew what her brothers felt when they met the love of their lives and it was just the best feeling she had ever experienced. Patty-Mary had never had a serious relationship before and it so this was the first time and she was loving it, and she was hoping it would never end.. She had the feeling it was something very special, she could feel it in her bones that Samantha was the one for her.

At The Colonel and Ruth Camden's.

The Kinkirk family had just had a lovely dinner at their grandparents house and Lucy was just about to take Savannah upstairs to have a bath before bed, "Thanks Colonel.. Grandma, The dinner was wonderful", She said smiling as she stood up and began to take her plate to the kitchen. "Well, it's our pleasure Lucy", The Colonel said smiling and gestured towards her, "Leave them honey, Grandma Ruth and I can do that.. You go get Savannah cleaned up for bed" He said as he stood up as well and took her plate from her, "You sure?", She said looking at him. Ruth stood up as well and chuckled, "We are sure Lucy, Go on", She said as she began to help clear the table. Lucy nodded and held her hand out to Savannah, "Come on.. time for your bath", She said smiling as Savannah took her hand, "Okay Mommy".

Ben, Kevin and Mary began helping their grandparents and Ruth held her hand up, "You sit down Mary and let us do it.. You need to relax", She said smiling, chuckling as she added, "I won't take no for an answer either". Mary nodded and smiled as she walked to her grandmother and kissed her cheek, "Thanks". She headed out to the living area and sat down, smiling as she picked up a book and started to read it, although her mind was on other things.. She was thinking about the time when Ben had come over when she was still seeing Wilson and he had helped her study and they had kissed. It felt so wrong, but so right at the same time.. That was the moment she knew she was in trouble.. She already had a crush on him, now she had kissed him, she never wanted to stop.. Her guilt was what drove her to try to convince Wilson to marry her.. She let the book sit on her lap as she settled into day dream about that day they first kissed.

-Flash Back-

Mary heard the door bell ring and got up and headed to the door to answer it and she was very surprised at who was there.. It was Ben.. She looked at him curiously, "What are you doing here?", She asked shaking her head a little. Ben walked in and spoke, his hands in his pocket.. "I thought I could change your mind about coming to the pool hall", Mary closed the door once he walked in and turned to him as he continued to speak. "The guys asked me to come get you". Mary sighed softly, "But I told you that I have a date with my boyfriend, Wilson". Ben chuckled and smiled, "Relax, I know you have a boyfriend..", He looked up at her, "We all know you have a boyfriend.. We just wanna treat you as one of the guys". Mary looked down a little as he continued, "and you could be a little nicer considering the I went to the trouble to track down your address and drive over here".

Mary folded her arms, "Why are you and the guys so anxious to treat me like one of the guys?", she asked curiously. He answered her honestly, "Truthfully, we've gotten a bad and undeserved rep for running off female candidates like you". She nodded but kept her arms crossed, "Thanks, but one.. I'm not sure I wanna be one of the guys.. and two.. why couldn't you just track down my phone number?", She with a small smirk, wondering just why he came over. She did find him attractive and if she wasn't with Wilson, this is the kind of guy she would want. She could also tell he was interested in her as more then a friend and she couldn't help but feel very flattered at that. He chuckled again in response to that, "I could have but I thought begging would be a little more effective in person". Mary couldn't help a small chuckle and wide smile to escape as he explained that to her.

The phone then began ringing and She looked at it and then at Ben, silently excusing herself to answer it. "Hello?". It was Wilson on the other end and he was breaking their date. She listened to his reason why he couldn't go out, her expression changing to one of disappointment on her face. Mary kept silent as she listened to him, wanting him to suffer a little that he kept cancelling on her. She really did love her, but she kept feeling like he was putting more importance on work then her and their family. As he tried to get his way out of saying work was important to her by saying she was very very important to him as well, she let him off the hook. "Okay, Okay, enough. We'll have dinner another night", She said with a smile, however her feelings inside said differently. She hung up and turned back towards Ben who walked closer to her, "Sounds like Wilson just broke your date", he said softly.

Mary just looked at him like why did he bring that up, Ben spoke up.. "Look Princess.. I hate to burst your bubble, but not every guy you meet wants to date you". He said that cause he knew he had no change with Wilson on the scene, but secretly, he really did like her and want to date her". Mary tilted her head, not really believing him at this point but still hearing him out. "I mean, this is a legitimate on-behalf-of-the-guys visit, so are you coming or what?", He asked putting his hands back into his pockets. Mary sighed softly, "Sorry, Well I could go with you, but". She stopped and looked at him, "Alright, I have a confession to make.. I've been having some problems with the written work, the manual". Ben nodded in understanding as Mary continued, "And I was gonna get Wilson to help me out after dinner, So I really should stay here and study". She said looking at him again, feeling a little stressed.

"If you don't pass that test next week, you're out", Ben said looking concerned, "I know and I really don't wanna screw up anything else in my life", She shrugged a little, "So I guess I'll pass". She wanted to ask Ben, but really didn't want to intrude on his plans, but he came to the rescue, "You want some help?". He asked her, partly to really help her out and partly because he just really wanted to be able to spend some time with her as well. Mary looked up him, smiling softly, and bite her lip nodding as she accepted. "Sure, that sounds wonderful", She started, "I mean.. as long as you don't mind missing out on hanging with the guys?". He smiled back as he responded, "No.. I don't mind at all.. I really want to help you".

They started studying and pretty soon half an hour turned to an hour which then turned into two hours and then into three hours. They only stopped to have some pizza for dinner and now Mary was starting to get a headache. She held her fingers to her temple and closed her eyes, moaning in pain softly, "Ohh, my brain is starting to hurt, I need a break". Ben looked up from the book he was looking at her when she turned her head, "Sure", he said as they closed their folders and then Ben grabbed another slice of pizza while Mary spoke, "Can I ask you a question?". He nodded and began eating his pizza, "Why do you wanna become a firefighter?". He finished his bite and spoke softly, "My dad died when I was 10". He reached for his drink as Mary spoke, "I'm sorry'. Ben continued nodding, "He was a firefighter", taking a sip of his drink.

"So you wanna follow in his footsteps?" She asked, feeling curious. "No, not exactly", he answered and the continued, "You see, when my dad died, the way I saw it, the fire killed him and ever since then, I hated fire for taking my dad away" he said looking at Mary, "So for a guy who hates fire, being a firefighter seemed like the right way to go.. What about you?", he asked Mary. "Well, I wanted to work in public service, so first" She said looking up, "I tried to join the police department and they turned me down because I wasn't old enough and then I applied for the fire department and I got in", She finished shrugging her shoulders a little. She smiled as she added, "With a little help from my grandfather". Ben looked at her nodding, "Is that who you live with?" He asked. "Yeah, my grandparents, they're away this weekend", She said smiling. Ben smiled a little wider which caused Mary to do the same as they looked at each other.

A little while later after they had dinner, they were sitting on the couch still studying, Mary trying to concentrate but out of the corner of her eye, noticing that Ben was starting at her. She looked up and over towards him, smiling softly and keeping eye contact for a few moments before looking down at her watch, Ben still looking at her. "Oh, it's late, You should probably go". They both made a move to close their books and then Mary looked back at him, "Thanks for helping me tonight". Ben nodded and smiled, "I had fun.. Well as much fun as you can have studying". Mary chuckled very softly and smiled wider, keeping eye contact with him again. He pointed to his jacket, "Can you hand me my jacket?"

As Mary looked away and reached to get it, Ben moved his arm to behind the couch and moved just a tiny bit closer so when Mary turned back towards him, all of a sudden before she realized what was happening, his lips were on hers, her arm still outstretched to give him the jacket. They kissed for a moment before Mary pulled away realizing what happened and she slapped him on the cheek. She couldn't believe it.. On one hand, she wanted to feel those soft sweet lips on hers again and on the other hand.. He knew she had a boyfriend. Ben put his hand up to his face, "Ow! That hurt". Mary tried to look indignant, "Well good". She said firmly.. "Sorry", He said, not meaning it as much as he should have. It felt so nice to have his lips on hers and he was desperate to feel it again. All night they had both felt major chemistry between them and it wasn't surprising this happened. "Yeah, you should be", She said looking at him.

They both kept staring at each other, both of their hearts racing inside their chests, Mary's eyes moved from his eyes to his lips, wanting to feel that sensation again. It actually felt even better then she had imagined and way better then Wilson's kisses. She felt a little guilty thinking that, but she couldn't help that was the truth. All of a sudden, after staring at each other, Mary moved towards him, placing her hand on his cheek as she pressed her body close to him and kissed him, Ben putting his arm on her side and closing her eyes, kissing back. They began to slowly deepen the kiss when the door opened, Wilson walking in "Hey Mary, the door was open, so I just". He stopped in his tracks as he got around the corner and saw Mary and some other guy kissing, Mary hearing him and pulling away, looking at her boyfriend, feeling somewhere in between guilt and remorse for hurting him, but at the same time wishing he hadn't walked in so they could have kept kissing. "Thought I'd come in", he said, finishing his sentence.

Mary heard him speak, but she felt like she was experiencing an out of body kind of thing where she was there, but not really. He told her he wanted to surprise her, but he was the one who got surprised. She never wanted to hurt him, She did love him.. but she had to accept the fact she had some kind of connection with Ben and had begun to develop feelings for him.. She knew as much as she liked Ben, she needed to try to work things out with Wilson. He had just left after he found them and as much as she wanted Ben to stay, she needed to be alone so he had gone just after Wilson and Mary just closed the door after their goodbye and sighed, leaning against it wondering what she was going to do to fix this.

-end flash back-

Mary was still sitting on the same couch where it all happened and was lost in thought when Ben came in with a cup of hot chocolate. As he handed her the cup, he smiled and asked, "What are you thinking about babe?". She came out of her thoughts and looked over at him smiling as she took the hot drink from him. "Ohh thanks honey.. ", She said as she pulled him by his shirt to sit down next to her. "I was just thinking about the first time we kissed actually". He smiled at her softly as she recalled the memory.. "I had wanted to kiss you all night to be honest", She whispered shyly to him. Even though at the time she had bee with Wilson, she still found Ben really attractive and had wanted to do that. "Well to be honest as well baby.. I really wanted to kiss you all night too.. I knew you were with Wilson, but I couldn't help how I felt for you".

Mary nodded and moved closer to him, "I know.. I didn't want to hurt Wilson, but I really liked you and found you so attractive.. I told my family I just felt like kissing you but the truth.. I was getting annoyed at Wilson for always cancelling our dates and you were there for me when I needed help and support". She took a sip of her drink and smiled. "Why did you go back to him and then try to convince him to marry you?". He asked, having always wanted to ask her. "I guess I was feeling guilty about hurting him and I did still love him, but I now know that love isn't always enough to sustain a relationship". Ben nodded and looked at her, moving his arm around the back of the couch, "Do you ever regret what we did?", He asked, his voice soft. She shook her head and smiled softly, taking his hand, "No.. never.. It made me realize how much I wanted you in my life.. I love you so much", She whispered as she leaned in to kiss his lips just as Kevin, Lucy, The Colonel and Ruth walked back in, Ben and Mary pulling apart quickly.

"No need to do that, You're married now.. don't feel ashamed", Ruth said smiling softly and chuckling. "Thanks Grandma", Mary said as she took another sip of her drink, "We should get to bed babe, It's getting late", Ben said as he looked at his watch. It now now just after 10pm and Mary nodded, "Yeah, we should.. We have a big day tomorrow". The colonel and Ruth nodded, "We should get to bed too, it is late for us..". They all said goodnight and headed upstairs to their bedrooms, Mary in her old room with Ben and Lucy, Kevin and Savannah in the other guest room. "Babe?", Ben asked as he got into bed with Mary,"Yeah honey?", She said in response, "I love you so much.. thanks for coming out here with me". Mary smiled at him,"Hey, they are my family as well, I love you so much and we will have a wonderful time". They cuddled into each other and fell asleep in each others arms, Mary knowing she had made the right decision.

Patty-Mary and Samantha's Home

Meanwhile Patty-Mary and Samantha had a wonderful quiet night at home. They had officially been together just over one year and they couldn't imagine being with anyone else now. Samantha had been thinking for a while of asking for her hand in marriage and whilst Patty-Mary was out doing errands for her parents earlier that day, Samantha had asked Margaret and Frank for permission for her to ask Patty-Mary to marry her. Margaret and Frank had been thrilled and had said yes straight away. Now all Samantha had to do was find the right ring and find a special and romantic way to ask her girlfriend. She almost asked her during their quiet night in tonight, but she really wanted it to be special and something to remember, so once Patty-Mary said she was going to head to bed, Samantha nodded saying she would be there soon as she sat in her office on the laptop, researching rings and thinking of ways to do this..

She had seen Patty-Mary eying off some rings as they walked around town, going past some jewelery store one day not long ago and she suddenly remembered how Patty-Mary's family was not only Catholic, but Irish-Catholic... She knew what ring to buy her.. It was the same ring Patty-Mary had been looking at.. It was a claddagh ring which is a traditional Irish ring and she couldn't wait to go and find the perfect one. Once she decided the ring she wanted, she decided to go looking as soon as she could, but for now.. It was time for bed. She stood up and switched off her computer and headed upstairs to the bedrooms, her heart melting at seeing Patty-Mary all snuggled up in the bed next to her. She was so in love with her and knew that this was the woman she wanted to fall asleep and wake up to every night and morning. She changed into her nightgown and got under the covers, moving closer to cuddle into her girlfriend and fell asleep, feeling excited and a little nervous at what she was planning on doing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the shorter chapter.. I wanted to focus on the Buffalo Kinkirk's and also keep to Ben and Mary.m I am thinking of putting some of my chapters in the future where it focuses on other members of the Camden and Kinkirk families as well especially since I do have some plans for some of them. My updates getting closer to Christmas will be a bit slower so I do hope you all bare with me :)


	13. Family and coming together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own 7th Heaven or any characters except for Frank Bennett and Samantha Collins, I do own Ben's mothers first name as I don't believe it was ever mentioned in the show.. Please enjoy.

The Colonel and Grandma Ruth's.

25th August 2012  
10:30am

"Well, We hope to see you all again very soon", Ruth said smiling as she hugged them all goodbye, The Colonel following after and hugging them all too.. "Of course you will", Mary said smiling as she hugged them back, "You should come back to California for Thanksgiving, I'm sure Mom and Dad won't mind", Lucy added smiling as she looked at her grandparents. The Colonel nodded and smiled, "That is a lovely offer, We will check our calendar and make sure we can make it", He said softly as he lifted Savannah up in his arms and hugged her tight. "You make sure you lean all all you can in school little Miss", He said as she kissed his cheek, "Yes Sir", She said chuckling as he let her down and she stumbled over to her mother, "Bye bye", They all said as the Kinkirk's all piled into the car to head to Ben and Kevin's parents house. "Bye, See you soon", The Colonel and Ruth said waving and then heading inside.

"Well that little girl is just something else isn't she Ruth", John said to his wife as he closed the door and smiled at her, "She sure is.. She is much like both Mary and Lucy at that age". They headed into the kitchen to cook their breakfast and John looked at Ruth, "She will do well in what ever she decides to do one day", He said, heading over to the coffee maker to put a new pot of coffee in. Ruth and John were just tickled pink that they had such a wonderful family with beautiful grand children and great grandchildren and it made their day to see them seeing as how they weren't often able to get to California anymore so it was a treat for them to see the family, well at least part of their family from time to time when they came to Buffalo.

Meanwhile back in California  
Camden Residence 7:30am

Ruthie was walking from the garage apartment to the main house when she heard a familiar voice calling her name, a voice she hadn't heard in a long time.. T-Bone "Hey Ruthie". She spun around, her face full of surprise.. "T-Bone... Wow.. I mean Hi... How are you.. It's been a long time", She said as she took a good look at him. He was good looking with dark shortish hair spiking up and looked lean and fit. It didn't make her wish she had stayed with him though, she was very happy being with Martin. "I'm good Ruthie..". he said as he eyed her up and down, a fact that Ruthie was a little uncomfortable with to be honest. "How have you been?", He asked her as he finally looked up into her eyes. She nodded with a small smile, "I've been good, Thanks". He moved a little closer to her, "So, where is Martin? That's his name right.. Martin?", He asked pretending he didn't know his name when he knew he very well did.

"Martin is wonderful, He is away serving in the Marines, but he is due to come home for Christmas". She said as she backed away a little, still feeling a little uncomfortable at the way he was looking at her, she pushed her hair out of her face, her wedding and engagement rings gleaming in the sunlight. T-Bone caught sight of the rings, making out he had no idea.. "So you and Martin are?", he said not able to finish his sentence. "Yes, we are married T-Bone, So don't think that just because he is away that you can somehow worm your way back in my life". Ruthie had not forgotten what T-Bone had done and she was not about to let him back in with open arms as even a friend right now. "What.. I wasn't thinking that", He said trying to act innocent as he folded his arms in front of his chest.. "Yes.. I am sure you weren't T-Bone.. anyway, I gotta get going", She said as she began walking towards the main house again, not looking back, whilst he was muttering in the background about how he would make her his again.

Once Ruthie was inside, she breathed a sigh of relief as Annie looked at her, "Honey.. you Okay?", She asked as she looked at her daughter with concern. "I'm fine Mom", She replied as she walked over to the table and put her books down, As well as working in Simon and Cecilia's day care center, she was also studying early childhood education at the local community college so she could become a teacher for children just starting off their educations. "It's just T-Bone is back", She said sighing as she sat down at the table whilst her mother poured her a glass of orange juice and brought it over to the table for her. "Wow.. I thought that was him.. What did he say to you?", Annie asked as she sat down at the chair opposite Ruthie.. "He just asked how I was and where Martin was, but it was how he was looking at me, It gave me the creeps".

"Well, maybe he just regrets what he did and the fact he lost you", Annie said looking back at her daughter who nodded, "Possibly, I'd never go back to him even if I wasn't married and in love with Martin though". It had really hurt Ruthie, and she had found out in the worst possible way, Seeing them together in the act.. She was so glad now she didn't let T-Bone be the one to take her virginity.. She was proud of herself for deciding to wait till she was married and very happy that it was her husband. Her mother noticed her expression and smiled, coughing a little to get her attention, "How bout some pancakes for breakfast? You shouldn't be going off to class on an empty stomach". That did the trick, Ruthie smiled as she looked at her mother, "Sure, that would be wonderful, thanks.. Where are Dad and the twins?", She asked as she looked around and listened for them..

"Well Dad and Dave went to the hospital for a blood test and I believe Sam decided to go with them.. I think your Dad mentioned taking them out for breakfast afterwards". Ruthie nodded before she took a sip of her orange juice and smiled, "Is David's platelet counts down again?", she asked concerned.. "Well, He is developing symptoms of them, so we will see.. Sarah said to get a blood test done and she will call us with the results". Ruthie seemed satisfied with that for now and stood up, "So can I help you with the pancakes?". Annie smiled at her daughter, shaking her head, "No, I'm fine sweetie, you go and sit down, relax", She said as she got everything ready to make the pancake mix. Ruthie nodded and smiled as she sat back down and began to read through her class notes, studying a little bit as they sometimes had unexpected quizzes, trying to push her mind away from the uneasiness of her talk with T-Bone.

Back in Buffalo, New York.   
2 hours later

It was now around 12:30pm and the Kinkirk family was pulling into the driveway of Margaret and Frank Kinkirk's house. Patty-Mary and Samantha were already there having helped her mother with getting prepared. They were going to have a nice late afternoon bbq as a family and they were all waiting out the back for them. Patty-Mary was the first to hear the car pulling into the driveway and stood up excitedly, "They are here guys", She said happily, smiling wide. The rest of the Kinkirk family stood up as they all got out of the car and headed into the back yard through the gate.. "Hiii ", Savannah squealed loudly as she spotted her Aunt and ran into her arms.. "Hey kiddo", She said as she lifted her up, swinging her a few times before settling her on her hip and leaned in kissing her cheek. "I missed you Aunt Patty", Savannah said in an excited voice.. "I missed ya too sweetie".

Samantha had come over and Savannah nuzzled into her Aunty a little shy until Patty-Mary patted her back. "It's okay sweetie.. That's Samantha, She won't hurt ya babe". Samantha smiled and looked at Savannah, speaking softly, "Hi there Savannah.. I have heard so much about you, Your Aunt talks about you all the time". Savannah came around and smiled, peering up to Samantha shyly, "Hi.. Can I call you Sammi?", She asked and Samantha nodded, "You sure can sweetie", she said as she poked her nose gently and smiled wider. As Savannah was getting requited with her Aunt and meeting her Aunt's girlfriend, the rest of the family.. Mary, Ben, Kevin and Lucy were all greeting Margaret and Frank. "We missed you guys so much", Margaret said as she hugged her two boys and smiled wide, trying to hold back tears. "We missed you too Ma". Kevin said as the boys let go and pulled away slightly.

Once the boys had been hugged, Margaret turned her attention to her two beautiful daughter in laws.. "Lucy, Mary", She said as she held her arms out to them and they leaned in, cuddling her back tight, "Hey Mags", Mary said as she pulled away rubbing her pregnant stomach. "Ohhh look at you.. You look beautiful.", She said placing her hand on Mary's chin and then doing the same to Lucy, "You both are". The girls both smiled and blushed softly, "Thanks.. You look just incredibly beautiful yourself", Lucy managed to reply as Kevin pulled her into him smiling. "Why thanks Lucy.. It's so good to see you all". she said smiling as Patty-Mary and Samantha came over with Savannah. "Hey there baby girl, come to grandma", She said as she held out her arms to Savannah who happily wriggled out of Patty-Mary's arms to go to her grandma.. "Hi Grandma.. ", She said as she nuzzled into her and smiled, kissing her cheek.

Frank came over to hug his grand daughter and smiled as he ruffled her hair, "Hey there sweetie.. ". He kissed her forehead and smiled at her, Hi Grandpa". She said as she held out her hand like he taught her to shake his hand.. He took her hand chuckling and nodded, "I see you remember what I taught you". She nodded excitedly, "Yup.. I sure did", She said giggling as he tickled her. While Margaret and Frank were talking to their granddaughter, Patty-Mary and Samantha walked over to Mary, Ben, Kevin and Lucy smiling as they walked hand in hand. "Hey guys.. I thought I'd properly introduce you to Sam", Patty-Mary said softly as she looked at her brothers and sister in laws. "This is my Brothers Ben and Kevin", She said pointing to them both, "And these beautiful girls are my sister in laws.. "Mary is married to Ben and Lucy is married to Kevin", She said smiling as Lucy and Mary both gave Samantha hug. "Hi.. It's nice to finally meet you in person", Mary said happily..

Samantha smiled back and hugged the girls back, "It's nice to finally meet you and Congratulations on your pregnancy Ben, Mary", She said as Ben hugged her too.. "Thank you.. We can't wait till the babies are born",He said as Mary rubbed her stomach.. "I bet you can't wait", Patty-Mary chimed in, "Wow, look at you.. you look wonderful, You both do", She said as the girls blushed a little. "So why don't we all get comfortable and we can sit and catch up", Patty-Mary added as she started to walk over to where they had the big table with some snacks and nibbley type food set up. The rest of them all followed and sat down, Margaret walking over to put Savannah in her father's arms and smiled at all of them, before going to sit down as well.. Frank decided to go and get some drinks, "Does anyone want anything to drink?". They all answered and Ben and Kevin decided to go and help Frank with the drinks, so as Kevin stood up, he handed Savannah to Patty-Mary who happily went to her as the adults went about their conversations.

Meanwhile.. Back in California  
10:00am

Sarah walked up to the Camden door and headed inside, "Hey guys.. anyone here", She said as she closed the door.. "I'm in the kitchen", came the answer from Annie and Sarah walked into the kitchen and smiled as she saw Annie bustling around in the kitchen.. "Do you ever stop", She said chuckling as she put her bag down on the dinning room table and walked over to her mother in law to hug her. "Well, you know me. always busy", Annie replied back with a smile as she hugged her daughter in law back. "So.. what's the news.. I guess you have David's results back". Sarah nodded as she sat down at the table, Annie sitting down opposite her. "They are low as you suspected, They are 6 thousand which are really low.. They are wanting him to go and stay as an inpatient and have a transfusion".

She looked carefully at Annie's face for a reaction and she knew she wasn't overly pleased with that news.. "What do you think Sarah?", She asked knowing already if Sarah agreed with the plan, then she Annie would do it, She trusted Sarah's opinion and judgement and would do whatever she had to for her children. "I think it would be a good precaution.. It would be just till they get them back up to a more normal level and maybe work out a better treatment for the time being, We want him to be all good and better for when school starts", She said as she took Annie's hand and squeezed it gently. "Where is David anyway?". She asked looking around. "Eric took the boys to breakfast once the blood test was over, they should be home any moment". Annie said as she smiled a little. "It will be fine Annie.. I promise.. Matt and I will check in on him all the time and you or Eric can stay as much as you want with him".

Annie nodded fighting back tears as Eric and the twins walked in the backdoor, Eric suspecting it wasn't all good straight away when he noticed the serious expression on Sarah's face.. David knew too, his stomach clenched up in knots as he turned in his fathers arms, almost clinging to him, "Please.. don't make me go". Eric hugged his son to him tight and sighed sadly as he looked at Sarah and Annie, "So, I am guessing hospital?", He asked Sarah as Annie stood up and went to hug David and Eric, "Yeah.. I'm afraid so". Sam got a little tearful as well when he heard his brother had to go stay in the hospital, however he was gonna be supportive and smiled a little as he hugged his brother, "It will be okay Davey.. I'll hang out with you and we can play games and watch tv". David nodded and smiled at his brother before looking at his parents, "I guess I should go and start to pack". He then moved away and started to slowly walk up the stairs, Sam following after for moral support.

"So the results weren't good then?", Eric asked as he looked at his wife and daughter in law, "His count today was 6 thousand, so not good at all". He sighed and nodded, "I'll go help David", Annie said as she smiled a little and walked up the stairs to the bedrooms. "I'm sorry Eric", Sarah said softly as she looked at him, her feet shuffling around nervously. "Don't worry, if hospital is the best place for him, then of course we will do whatever it takes". He sighed as he stood up from the chair, "I should call my parents.. let them know.. I dunno if I should tell Mary, Ben, Kev and Lucy though.. I don't want to disturb their family time with the rest of the Kinkirks". Sarah looked at him, her eyebrows raised, "You gonna tell me I should tell them?". Sarah nodded and smiled.. " I think you should.. They would wanna know.. You can tell them it's not an emergency and it's all just a precaution and to not cut their time in Buffalo short"

Eric nodded and gave her a hug, "Thanks.. I'll be in my office if anyone needs me.. Tell Anne to get me when she is ready to go and I'll drive over with them". Sarah nodded and smiled, "Your welcome and sure.. of course I will". She patted his shoulder and then headed upstairs to tell Annie what Eric said whilst Eric went into the office to make the phone calls that he needed to make.. Not ones he wanted to have to make, but he knew Sarah was right and the kids should know about this.. He knew his parents would wanna come out as soon as possible as well. He sighed sadly as he sat at his desk and reached for the phones to begin his phone calls, worrying about his son and how they were all gonna deal with it.. He knew he would be asking his parishioners to pray for his family this weekend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Readers.. I know it is primarily a Mary/Ben story but I like to include the whole family as well, so I hope you like this chapter.. I am hoping once I get back on track with my other stories, I will be able to get these updates done more often.


	14. Putting family first

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own 7th Heaven or any characters except for Frank Bennett and Samantha Collins, I do own Ben's mothers first name as I don't believe it was ever mentioned in the show.. Please enjoy.

Buffalo, New York

Mary and Ben, Kevin, Lucy and Savannah with the Kinkirk Family.

"Okay, but Dad are you sure you don't want us to come home? I mean every just to watch out over everyone else while you and Mom stay with David?", Mary asked looking worried on the phone. They had been having a lovely day with Ben and Kevin's family and they were all getting on. Samantha seemed like a really lovely woman and Mary was really happy for Patty-Mary. She was the happiest she had ever seen her. It had taken a while for Patty-Mary and Mary to bond at first and even more so with Lucy and Patty-Mary but now that they were, the three girls often went out together, well four if you now count Samantha. However, right now Mary had some other pressing issues to deal with, She had gotten a phone call about three hours after they had gotten to Ben and Kevin's mother and step father's house from her frantic father who was telling her that David needed to be admitted to hospital.

Her father was trying to tell her and Lucy and the rest of them to stay put and enjoy their time with the Kinkirk family. "We will be fine honey, I just wanted you and your sister to know so you would't think we were keeping anything from you.. the Colonel and Ruth are flying out". Mary's eyes widened at that as Ben tried to keep his wife calm by rubbing her back, Lucy biting her nails with worry knowing something was going on. "The Colonel and Ruth are flying out and you think that it's not enough of an emergency for us to come back?", Mary was annoyed now, She knew her father didn't want her and Lucy to worry, but whether they were in Buffalo or Glen Oak, they would be worrying, especially Lucy. "Why do I know you aren't going to stay in Buffalo? We are all doing fine, and at least there you can concentrate on other things".

Mary knew she wouldn't concentrate on another other then how her little Brother was doing. She knew she couldn't stay, for her father's sake she played along and then after their goodbyes, she hung up her cell. "What's going on Mary?", Lucy said as she stood up from the lounge chair she had been sitting in, Patty-Mary and Samantha keeping a watchful eye on Savannah, making sure she didn't overhear this conversation. She didn't need to know just yet. Mary sighed softly, she knew that telling Lucy was going to be difficult, but she had just bite the bullet and do it. "David's latest blood work came back today and it's not good. They are admitting him to hospital so they can do a blood transfusion and some more tests". Lucy looked like she was ready to fight, She was angry at the part of the conversation she heard that said they should stay in Buffalo, "And Dad honestly thinks we should stay here? What good will that do?".

"I know Luce, I told him as much", She sighed as she crossed her arms and looked at her sister, "But you agreed with him?". Mary chuckled and smirked softly, "You know I like to humor him". Margaret and Frank agreed, "I think you guys should get home and be with your family, they need you", Frank said as he went over to hug his step daughter in law. Kevin had told him Lucy was a bit of a worrier and stressed out about a lot of things, "How about we head back with you if you are worried about cutting your visit short here, that way we can help Annie and Erik around the house and be there for you all". Margaret nodded and smiled agreeing to the idea. "Are you sure it's not inconveniencing you both?", Lucy said as she looked up at him. Margaret had come up and placed her arm on Lucy's shoulder. "No it's not at all. We were thinking about having a vacation around there soon, We may as well do it now".

Kevin was already on the phone to the airport trying to get them some tickets, "Patty-Mary, Samantha?", He asked with his hand on the talking part of the receiver. "I don't think we can get out of work, but we will come by when we can and see if you need any help". Kevin nodded his head and Mary was already walking over to Kevin just to make sure he was able to get flights. "Yes, that is for six adults, one child", He paused and smiled, "Great, thanks you are a legend". He hung up the phone and looked at Mary. "It was your old friend Lesley and she was happy to accommodate us all tonight at five". Mary smiled at Kevin and nodded her head at him, "She always was a good friend to me, She started my basic training with me.

Just as Margaret was about to say she and Frank would go back, Mary's eyes went really wide and she smiled, touching her stomach. "What is it babe?", Ben asked her, walking over to where she stood, his eyes full of worry and concern. One Camden was already in hospital, there was no need for another one to be too. "It's just.. well one of the babies is kicking Ben". Ben smiled wider then the Cheshire cat and Mary took his hand and placed it where her's had been, where she had felt the baby kicking. "Do you feel it?". He felt tears come to his eyes as he whispered to her, "Yes, I can, I can feel it". This was the most incredible feeling every. Knowing his and Mary's babies were in there and moving about, He couldn't wait to meet them. The rest of the family watched on in awe, everything else forgotten about for a moment while they enjoyed this moment.

After a couple of minutes, Margaret spoke up, "Okay Frank and I best get to packing, it's good you guys haven't unpacked your things yet", She said with a smile as she hugged Lucy once more and then her and Frank headed upstairs to get their things together. Savannah was sitting happily on her Aunt's lap and was reading a story to Patty-Mary and Samantha to keep her mind off of any tension that might be going around at the moment. It was now 4:30pm and everyone was almost ready to go, Margaret and Frank had brought their things down and they all piled in Frank's mini van to go to the airport. "Now I am trusting you girls to look after the house and my van", Frank said to Patty-Mary and Samantha. "Of course we will, keep us updated on David and if you need anything", Samantha said to Lucy as she hugged her and then Mary, Patty-Mary doing the same to the girls and to her brothers.

"We will, and thanks Sis", Ben said as he hugged his little sister and then Samantha, "Thanks Sam, sorry our visit was cut short. We'll come back either before the babies are born". Patty-Mary chuckled and smiled at her Brother, "It's okay Ben, we can come out and visit you guys, possibly before the babies are born, but most definitely after". The two girls then hugged her parents and also Savannah, who was still a little confused, Lucy making a mental note to let her know on the plane what was happening. "Okay, guys see you later, See you when we get back", came the chorus of replies as they all said their final goodbyes to Sam and Patty-Mary and then walked down the gangway to get on the plane. "I hope everything is okay babe", Samantha said to Patty-Mary laying her head on her girlfriend's shoulder. " I really hope so too, let's go home and light a candle for David and the Camden's.

Patty-Mary was catholic and so lighting a candle was something she did if she wanted to remember someone or she was praying. She knew that David was in good hands, his brother Matt and sister in law Sarah were both doctors and being in hospital was the best place for him right now, still she worried about the Camden's, in particular, Eric who had already had two heart attacks and open heart surgery. The two girls watched till the plane flew off and then they headed back home in the mini-van. It was going to be a hard next few days not being able to be there for them, but Ben, Mary and Lucy and Kevin knew where they were and they were only a plane ride away if they needed them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there Readers,  
> This chapter is nowhere near as long as previous ones, mainly cause I just wanted to get my brain flowing with some ideas and start out slowly. Next chapter will deal with David's illness a bit more, plus also the other things that were going on in the chapter prior to this one and yes, I am writing with experience. It is what I have and it is what kept me from writing for a while


End file.
